The King of Slytherin
by NeonCandies
Summary: Once Arthur Kirkland got his acceptance letter into Hogwarts he was ecstatic. He thought it was the chance to prove himself to his family. Arthur learns of his talent for magic and communication of the nonhuman kind. He runs into the young wizard Alfred F. Jones, who manages to turn his life upside down in the most unpleasant of ways. ((Future UsUk along with other pairings))
1. Chapter 1

The train pulled to a stop with a screech, steam hissing from it. A boy stood alone on the large platform. He closed his book and nodded his head, a small smile gracing his features.

"Right on time." The accent the boy had was a thick British, his hair was a messy bright blond. His eyes were a stunning green that went well with his hair. Another thing gracing his face was a pair or ridiculously huge eyebrows. He adjusted his scarf and gripped his suitcase tighter as people started to come in through the wall and into the platform 9 ¾.

The platform began to fill up with people, parents taking their children to the train. Those parents had accompanied their children to say their goodbyes. Their children were headed to Hogwarts, the school of witch craft and wizardry. The school had a grand reputation; for it was there that the dark wizard was killed and where the great wizard had went to school.

The boy moved out of a family's way, pulling his suitcase with him. The name "Arthur Kirkland" was printed on a piece of paper attached to the front in beautiful cursive. Arthur looked around at the children who were hugging their parent's goodbye. A handful of the mothers were crying, Arthur quickly looked away and scowled.

His own parents had not attended his departure; they had only attended when his older brothers had gone to Hogwarts. They were to be third years while he was only a first year. His brothers were the pride and joy of his family, excellent grades, good looks, and they all were popular in their houses. They all belonged to Gryffindor, a house that young Arthur wanted to be in more than anything. He wanted to prove to he could be a powerful wizard, not to his family but to himself. He had been called a failure at everything he has tried to do, this time would be different.

He gripped his ticket in his jacket pocket and decided it was time to now board. He took only a few steps before someone shouted,

"Look out!"

Next thing Arthur knew he was lying face down on the smooth floor with his rump high in the air. He blinked a few times and finally realized that someone had crashed into him. He groaned and sat up, rubbing his nose and glaring at the back of the person who had hit him.

"Al, you alright?" He looked over at the two who were accompanying the rude boy. Said kid was sitting and rubbing the back of his head. He fixed the glasses that were barely hanging on his face before nodding.

"Yeah I'm good."

"Oh my, don't look now Alfred but it seems you've hit a troll." One of the boys said. His voice was thick with a French accent. He had wavy golden locks that reached his shoulder. His eyes were a bright blue that matched his flashy appearance. He had on a fancy trench coat of a dark cerulean colour. He placed one hand on his hip and flipped his hair and gave a slight laugh at his own joke.

Arthur's face warped into a violent scowl and he gritted his teeth, standing up and glaring at the boy. He then glared down at the boy who had run into him. He had also stood up and was proceeding to dust himself off. The boy looked up at Arthur and gave a cheesy smile.

Arthur's eyes widened slightly at how blue the others were. They seemed to reflect the very sky he adored to see when it was not raining. The boy was dressed in a baggy gray jacket and jeans. He had beautiful blond hair with a piece that seemed to defy gravity. He held his hand out to the Brit who looked down at it suspiciously.

"Sorry for running into ya. Name's Alfred Jones. "He flashed a pearly white smile at Arthur. Arthur took in the fact that he was obviously American. He took his hand and shook it.

"Arthur Kirkland…" He said cautiously.

"Woah dude, your eyebrows are freaking huge." Alfred chuckled.

Arthur sputtered a response and yanked his hand away. He glared at the rude American and grabbed his suitcase. "You bloody tosser, next time watch where you're going!" He hissed out and stormed away. His cheeks burned in embarrassment, he had been made fun of for his eyebrows since childhood.

Out of his entire family, he apparently had inherited his grandfather's eyebrows. His brothers didn't have that problem, it was just him. Therefore they had made fun of him for it and so had everyone in his elementary. He stormed up the train steps and searched for an empty cart to be in. He found one and quickly went inside, stuffing his suitcase away and sitting down next to the window. He sighed and pulled out the slip of paper from his pocket with the information of what he needed written down on it. He checked over the list twice to make sure he had not forgotten anything. He had bought everything he needed the day after he had gotten his acceptance letter. He had it sent to Hogwarts ahead of time along with his owl. His wand he kept in his suit case, intending to change into his robes when they got closer to the school.

He glanced up as the door opened. A boy with black hair and eyes stood there. He appeared flustered and he bowed slightly.

"Excuse me, would you mind if I shared the cart with you? There seems to be no other empty carts." He had on a light gray coat with a white scarf and black slacks. Arthur smiled at him and flicked his head to the seat in front of him.

"Oh be my guest, I would enjoy the company." Arthur watched him walk in, he bowed and said thank you before putting his suit case away. Arthur held out a hand and smiled again. "I'm Arthur Kirkland, nice to meet you."

The boy hesitated before accepting the hand, "Hello, I'm Kiku Honda. It is a pleasure to meet you." He sat across from Arthur and they remained in total silence. The silence wasn't awkward, but comfortable. Arthur stood up and pulled one of his books out of his suit case, a book on magical beings. He opened it up and began to read, glancing up when he felt eyes on him.

Kiku jumped and looked out the window with a flustered expression. Arthur smiled slightly and closed his book, tilting his head to the side. "Excuse me, Kiku, would you like something to read? I've brought many of my favorite books along with me."

Kiku quickly looked back at Arthur and shook his head. "No there is no need to go to such troubles."

"Oh bullocks, there's no trouble at all." Arthur dismissed his response and stood up, pulling out one his books on dragons. He smiled and deemed it suitable before handing it over to kiku. Kiku thanked him and traced a hand over the front of the book, noting how it looked dearly cared for.

Arthur sat back down and opened his book, sighing in content as he started to read. _The only thing that would go lovely with this book is a nice cup of tea._ Arthur thought to himself. He soon began to get wrapped into his book, not noticing the train whistle blow or the sound of it beginning to move. Arthur completely forgot about his horrible meeting with that blasted French kid and his American friend. He leaned against the seat and silently read, him and Kiku both sitting in comfortable silence as their books wove stories.

The train ride to Hogwarts had been uneventful; Kiku and Arthur quickly became friends over books. Kiku had enjoyed Arthur's books, reading quite a few of them. Arthur had learned that Kiku was a second year in Hufflepuff. He had also learned that Kiku was Japanese and his parents had sent him over to attend Hogwarts. Arthur had stuck close to kiku, who had known where he was going.

Kiku was rather quiet for the most part and Arthur didn't push him to speak unless he was willing. They soon separated when Kiku went to sit at his house table while the first years were led down the center and stopped in front of a chair with the sorting hat resting on top of it. Arthur looked around the tables and spotted his brothers. They were sitting together at their house table and he noticed Allistor, the second oldest, pointing at him. They all trained their eyes on their little brother, eager to see which house he would be put in.

The head master, Vladmir Romania, stood up to give a few words. Everything went silent as he cleared his throat and smiled. "I welcome you all to Hogwarts! Please keep in mind that the dark forest is not to be entered under any circumstances what so ever! We will be having professor Ivan read off the names for the shorting hat." He nodded to a man with ashy gray hair and cold violet eyes. He was smiling softly, a long white scarf wrapped around his neck. He had on the black robes that almost everyone in Hogwarts wore.

The man moved over to the sorting hat and pulled out a long roll of paper which appeared to be containing names. He cleared his throat. "I will call out your name and then place the sorting hat on your head. It will then sort you into your houses."

He began to list off names, one after the other. Arthur glanced up when he heard Alfred's name. The fool strolled up to the sorting hat and sat on the stool like a child, rocking back and forth eagerly. Arthur forced himself not to roll his eyes at the pure excitement radiating off of the boy.

"Ah, a strong heart in this one. You would do nicely in….. Gryffindor!" Alfred practically yelled in joy, but he caught himself just in time. He didn't however hide the slight bounce in his step as he sat down at his house table.

"Francis Bonnefoy." Ivan read the next name. Arthur grimaced as that stupid French frog strutted up to the hat and sat down.

The sorting hat hummed as it thought to itself before shouting out, "Ravenclaw!" France stood up, flipped his hair and moved over to his table. Arthur glared at him from over his shoulder, noticing how he had seemed to captivate the girls of his house's attention. He scoffed and rolled his eyes, looking back at the creepy man.

"Matthew Williams." Arthur recognized the other boy who had been with Alfred and Francis. At the time he had not realized that he and Alfred looked completely the same except for a few things. Like how his hair was more wavy and longer, and how it was a few shades darker than Alfred's. His eyes were also darker than Alfred's and less stunning.

He moved up to the stool, far quieter than his lookalike. Arthur made the conclusion that they were twins, though the lasts names threw him off a bit.

"Let's see…. You seem to be a very hard worker….. Lots of patience in you too. I think you'll do nicely in…. Hufflepuff!" Matthew let go of the breath he had been holding. He moved to his table and was greeted kindly. Arthur smiled as he was greeted by Kiku, if the quiet Japanese boy had greeted him, then he couldn't be as bad as his brother.

"Arthur Kirkland!"

Arthur's head snapped forward and he swallowed hard, he could practically feel his brother's gazes. He moved forward, squaring his shoulders and straightening his posture. He lifted his chin up in a proud manner and sat on the stool, not uttering a sound. The hat was then placed on his head and he closed his eyes and let out a small breath.

"Oh what's this? Another Kirkland I see, And such strong magic in this one… yes… very strong indeed. A great deal of ambition to go along with a powerful mind… I think you would be best suited for….." There was a pause and Arthur swallowed, glancing over at his brothers who were also waiting. He caught sight of Alfred watching him, before he could register that in his mind the hat declared its answer. "Slytherin!"

* * *

A/N: Well i finally started to write a fanfic, i've been meaning to but i really never had any inspiration. Thank you for taking the time to read this!


	2. Chapter 2

Arthur's heart sank in disappointment. His hands felt numb as he slowly stood up. He swallowed hard, his throat strangely dry. He glanced out of the corner at his eye and watched his brothers sneer at him. He moved over to his new house table with hesitant steps. Arthur sat down and gave a crooked smile at the other Slytherin members. Some off the girls sniffed and rolled their eyes, clearly not impressed. Arthur cast his eyes down, feeling unwelcomed.

He looked down at his hands in his lap, clenching and unclenching them. He had wanted so badly to get into Gryffindor, to be in the famous house like his brothers. He wanted his parents to be proud of him like they were of his brothers. He closed his eyes tightly and ignored the chatter as the feast started. He didn't notice the albino move to sit across from him. Arthur's eyes shot open when he heard snapping right in front of his nose. He looked up into the bright crimson eyes of the guy.

"Yo eyebrows, you feeling alright?" The guy cracked a grin, his teeth as white as his hair. Arthur hesitated before opening his mouth to respond. He felt bile rise in the back of his throat and slapped a hand over his mouth, resting one also on his stomach. He shook his head and curled over the table.

"No. I don't really think so… I think I'm going to be sick." Arthur mumbled through his hand. He squeezed his eyes closed and he bit the inside of his cheek. His entire plan for Hogwarts was just smashed right in front of him. He had spent his entire 11th birthday preparing for what he would do once in Gryffindor. How he would send his beloved owl to his parents with a letter telling them of how he was in Gryffindor like his brothers. He had lain awake all night, excited at the thought of his parents finally praising him.

The albino tilted his head and drew his eyebrows together. He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. "Woah man, you look ready to hurl. And that would be really unawesome because you'd get it all over me. Lemme guess, didn't plan on being a snake?"

Arthur's head shot up and he looked at the albino who was playing with a dinner roll. Arthur tentatively removed his hand from his mouth. "Um actually, no I didn't. I had no intention of becoming a Slytherin…."

"Well what did you exactly want to be in? No wait, lemme guess. The oh so wonderful, Gryffindor!" His words dripped far too much sarcasm for one person. He cracked a grin and snickered. "Listen up eyebrows; you just don't know how great Slytherin is. Trust me; you'll love being a snake."

Arthur couldn't help the challenging smile that curved up his lips. He narrowed his eyes and scoffed. "And I suppose you'll be the one to teach me?" Arthur ignored the nickname of "eyebrows", not in the mood to yell at someone he just met. He was in fact a gentleman and would act as so.

"As the awesome perfect to the Slytherin house it is my duty." He made an over exaggerated bow from where he sat. He grinned at Arthur and stuck a pale thumb to his chest. "Name's Gilbert Beilschmidt, fifth year and male perfect to the Slytherin house. I am by far the awesomest one you'll ever meet." He smirked and Arthur's eyes widened slightly.

"Oh, I'm Arthur Kirkland." Arthur held out his hand to shake, but his hand was rudely ignored by Gilbert who found the food much more appetizing. He stuffed his cheeks until they puffed out.

"Don't think too much on it." He spoke between mouthfuls, much to Arthur's displeasure. "Only the best of the best are Slytherin. Take my word for it. Now come on, eat up. You've not lived until you've ate Hogwarts cooking."

With that Gilbert began to eat sloppily. Arthur scrunched up his nose in disgust. He began to take a few things and place them on his plate. He paused in picking up a dinner roll to realize he was no longer feeling sick. He glanced up at Gilbert who was talking to the others sitting next to him. Arthur gave a faint smile and said nothing for the rest of the dinner.

When being shown to their dormitory Arthur had stuck closer to the back where less Slytherin's were. Gilbert was in the front leading them to their, as he put it, "Dorm of awesomeness". Arthur rolled his eyes as he heard the Albino's voice as clear as rain from where he stood. Arthur thought back to the dinner, he had, for some apparent reason, turned to look at Alfred. Alfred had caught Arthur's gaze and waved at him happily, a grin plastered on his face. Arthur had scowled and turned back around when he had noticed his brothers talking to Alfred.

Arthur was step brothers to Colin, the oldest, and Dylan, the third oldest. His father had married their mother when Arthur was only 4 and Allistor was 7. Allistor and Colin were both the same age, only a few months apart. Dylan was one year younger than them leaving Arthur the youngest of the bunch. Growing up they tended to band together to pick on Arthur, the three of them enjoyed tormenting the child. One day when Arthur was 7 he had attacked Colin in retaliation, this had caused Colin to fall on a rock and scratch his cheek up. It left the boy with a faint single scar across his right cheek.

Arthur walked into their dorms, looking in awe at the soft greenish glow is seemed to give off. They weren't lying when they said the Slytherin dorms were under the Hogwarts Lake. Arthur looked up at Gilbert who was standing on a table, his hands on his hips and his chest puffed out.

"Alright! First years, your dorm is down stairs. Second year dorms are over there. Third years are over there, fourth and fifth are over there, sixth years are upstairs. First years don't wonder into the wrong dorms or you'll be in deep shit!" He began pointing to the doors and stairs leading to each section for the dorms. "Tomorrow is Sunday; the headmaster apparently thought the first years would need one more day to settle in." He snickered and crossed his arms over his chest. "And since we have one extra free day we'll push the _Slytherin Welcoming Ceremony_ to tomorrow. First years are to stay in the common room after dinner. You'll then be shown were you are to sleep for the Slytherin ceremony."

Arthur raised a brow at that. _Slytherin welcoming ceremony? That doesn't sound good._ Everyone's heads turned as a boy with curly brown hair spoke up. He had light tanned skin and bright green eyes.

"Hay Gilbert, Mi amigo, you should seriously tell them in further detail. You're going to end up scaring everyone into not coming." The Spaniard chuckled.

"I was just getting to that." Gilbert huffed in annoyance and looked back down at the gathered people. "_The Slytherin Welcoming Ceremony_ is where all first year Slytherin's have to do the task given by the perfect. Last year it was painting the other house's entrances. This year I've decided that you'll be sleeping upstairs in the forbidden section of Hogwarts." He grinned. "Those who don't manage to sleep there the entire night will have to be the 5th and 6th year's lackeys. If we catch you sneaking back into the dorms before the time is up then you fail. You have to make it the whole night understood?"

Shouts of protest began to erupt along the first years.

"Now hold on! The forbidden part of Hogwarts is forbidden for a reason! We could get kicked out if we're found there!"

"I don't see why we have to do something this stupid! We're already picked for Slytherin!"

More shouts of protests were thrown at Gilbert. Gilbert's eyes narrowed and he frowned, growing more annoyed. The albino looked dangerous; his red eyes seemed to glow with the room. "Oh? So you're saying you can't handle one simple night? You're telling me you have less courage than those wimpy lame Gryffindor brats?"

This managed to quiet down the yelling to a mere whisper.

Gilbert took the near silence as his reason to continue. "You are not considered one of Slytherin until you do this. The other houses may have simpler tasks, like Gryffindor apparently had one where you had to drink 5 cups of butter beer in one sitting! Do you want a wimpy welcoming ceremony like them?"

There were a few scattered no's here and there.

"I said: do you want a wimpy welcoming ceremony like them?"

This time more people shouted out no, even the older Slytherin members joined in. Gilbert grinned, satisfied. "Well then you'll do this! Only Slytherin does anything awesome! All the other houses are so lame in their ceremonies! So come here right after dinner tomorrow and prepare your asses!"

The crowd roared in cheer, Arthur rubbed his temples, feeling a head ache come on. He breathed through his nose and groaned quietly, this was going to be a long year by the looks of it.

Arthur had chosen a bed with a window right next to it where you could see into the water. Apparently there was a spell put on it so it wouldn't break. Arthur looked out of it and sighed, there were only about 4 Slytherin first years, not counting Arthur. Sadly, they were also all girls.

In going to the Slytherin first year dorms, one went down the stairs which led to a hall. Following the hall it would split into two directions. Going right would take you to the female part of the first year dorms, continuing straight would take you to the male part of the dorm. Arthur was alone in the large room; it was fairly dark since Arthur only had lit two candles. Arthur sighed and moved from the window, intending to go to bed when something caught his eye.

He looked back out the window, his eyes straining to see the black shadow again. There! Arthur pressed his face against the glass and looked around for the shadow. Arthur leapt back and gasped when a giant squid swam past the mirror. Arthur's mouth dropped in awe as it was followed by a couple of Grindylows. One of them stopped swimming to look through the glass at Arthur. Arthur gave a small smile and waved a bit at it.

"H-hello there." Arthur had always been able to see magical creatures, even if they weren't visible. He had the ability of "sight" as his father had put it. He had told Arthur that those with sight could sometimes understand the magical creatures and befriend them. But that was only on rare occasion, something Arthur could do. Though he had kept that fact to himself, afraid of being called a freak by muggles.

Arthur watched the Grindylow wave to something; more Grindylows swam over to the first one and stared at the Brit through the glass. Arthur cleared his throat and nodded hello.

"I'm Arthur Kirkland, It's uh…. A pleasure to meet you." Arthur remembered reading about them in his books, about how they weren't the friendliest to magic and nonmagic folk. They chattered amongst one another in a complex stream of noises before looking back at Arthur.

One went up to the glass and pressed its face into it, chattering again. Arthur gave a smile and nodded happily. Arthur was able to understand the Grindylows, even if it wasn't English they were speaking, "Oh yes, I'm actually a first year here. My brothers do go here though, maybe you've heard of them?"

Arthur sat on his trunk in front of the window and listened to the creatures chitter before he shook his head. "No that's alright if you haven't. I for one think it's better if you hadn't met them. They are not the best company one can have. They're also in Gryffindor; you know I wanted to be in Gryffindor too. I wanted to prove I was good enough for it. But if I think about it, I'd have to deal with them for another 3 years and live in the same house as them. And then I'd have to stay with that Jones kid! That bloke is beyond rude; first he runs into me and then has the gull to make fun of my eyebrows. There's nothing wrong with them!"

The Grindylows chirped, some did flips in the water as if to agree. Arthur smiled and continued to talk to them for a good long while. After about an hour of conversing to the interesting creatures, Arthur yawned. He told them he'd go near the lake tomorrow and he hoped to talk to them again. They had appeared to agree to the thought before swimming off.

Arthur sighed and curled up on his bed, feeling better than he did at the start of dinner. Arthur no longer felt so alone, he was one to rather have the company of magical creatures than humans. He yawned again and turned on his side, gazing out the window before letting his eyes drift closed.

The next day consisted first of breakfast in the great hall. Arthur had happily had Earl Gray to go along with his proper English breakfast. He had been ignored by the others of his house, but he frankly didn't care. He had more important things to think about, like his newly acquired friends who just happened to be rather dangerous.

He moved down the path leading to the lake, humming a tune to himself. He looked up at the sky which was clear for once, reflecting such a breath taking blue. Arthur sighed and looked down at the spring flowers dotting the ground every now and again. Picking up his pace he made it to the lake without encountering anyone, much to his pleasure.

Arthur walked along the long dock and stopped at the edge, resting on his knees and reaching over to run his hands along the surface. "I'm here…" He mumbled softly, his voice carrying on the wind. Arthur sat back and took in a deep breath, bringing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. His unmanageable hair blew with the wind and he let his eyes close, enjoying the calmness. He looked down into the water when he heard popping sounds.

There bobbing on the surface were the Grindylows he had befriended. Arthur smiled down at them and they grinned back, their tiny sharp teeth exposed. "Well hello there. I hope you didn't wait long, I had to have breakfast and all."

They swam in a circle and chirped at him. He laughed and looked back up at the sky. "That's good then, I would've hated myself for making you wait. It's a nice day today don't you think?" Arthur happily talked to the water creatures, unaware that he had captured the attention of a certain blue eyed blond.

"So he told me I was off my trolley for talking to creatures that he said didn't exist. But I told him I could see the fairies and that he was the crazy one. Only when I was 10 did I figure out I could see them because I had what my dad called "_The sight_". I had to keep it a secret or else they'd call me weird or freak. I didn't have many human friends growing up, they were mostly magical beings. I remember this one friend I had; his name was Flying Mint Bunny. He was very kind to me and was a good friend of mine." Arthur smiled at the memory of the mint green rabbit with wings.

"I remember one time me and him were going to the town to buy some bread, I'll never forget what I saw! So I was walking down the street when-"Arthur was cut off when the Grindylows made a screeching noise, it sounded like nails on a chalk board. They dived under the water one by one and Arthur whipped his head around to see the intruder. Alfred was a few feet away from him, his blue eyes wide and his mouth hanging open in a stupid expression. He quickly moved to sit next to Arthur, leaning over to look into the water.

"Woah dude! I saw you sitting alone and I thought you were crying and all, so I was gonna be the hero and save you from loneliness. When I came over I saw you talking to something but I didn't see what! I seriously thought you were crazy! But then I saw those Grinlow thingies-"

"Grindylows…." Arthur grumbled.

"Whatever, so you were actually talking to them? Don't they kill people? Dude that's so cool! Is that like a super power? You've gotta teach me how to talk to them!" Alfred turned his over excited gaze to a dumbstruck Arthur.

Arthur gave him a bewildered look, _This twat is in a school of magic and he thinks I have a bloody superpower? Is he completely stupid or what? One would think of magic first wouldn't they? Attending this school and all, that should obviously be the first choice!_ Arthur shook his head and scowled at Alfred. "Well before you so rudely interrupted, I just so happened to be in the middle of a conversation with my friends. Now you've gone and scared them away! What am I supposed to do for company now?"

"Don't sweat it Artie! I'm here, you can talk to me." Alfred didn't seem fazed by the Brit's scowl.

"It's Arthur, not Artie! And I think I'd rather have my tongue cut off than talk to the likes of you." Arthur hissed, glaring at Alfred.

Alfred's smile faltered a bit before he laughed. "That's a pretty mean thing to say Artie."

"Arthur."

"Oh I've got an idea! Let's go explore the school! You haven't looked at it all right?" Alfred's smile was back full force, ignoring the seething Brit.

Arthur thought about his answer before speaking. "No, I haven't looked at everything. But I'm perfectly happy right here where-"

"Great!" Alfred grabbed Arthur's hand and pulled him up. He tugged him across the docks happily. Arthur tried to break his grip, pulling at his hand and fuming at him.

"Unhand me you bloody wanker! I told you I didn't want to go! Are you daft? I told you to let go of me!" The flustered Brit continued to shout out insults that seemed to pass over Alfred's head. Arthur looked over his shoulder at the retreating dock. After watching it slowly get further away he came to the conclusion he wouldn't be getting back anytime soon. He huffed in annoyance, "Fine! I guess I'll explore the school with you. It's not because I'm giving up or anything, it's just because I wanted to find where the library is."

"Right, that's exactly the reason." Alfred glanced at him over his shoulder and flashed him a grin. He fixed his glasses with his free hand and continued to pull Arthur along, ignoring the angry expression Arthur donned on.

Arthur sighed as he sat down in the commons room, full and tired. Alfred had dragged him all over the school, practically gushing excitement.

_"You know I'm Slytherin right?" Arthur had asked him after he insisted they rest. _

_"So?" _

_"And you're Gryffindor. We're practically enemies!" Arthur couldn't understand how the dolt didn't get it._

_"Well who decided that?" Alfred looked at Arthur and tilted his head, his eyebrows drawn together in pure confusion._

_Arthur stuttered, growing quiet as he too tried to find an answer. He frowned and looked down at his shoes. "I'm not sure…"_

_"Well I don't think of you as an enemy! You're one of my friends!" Arthur looked at Alfred as if he had grown a second head, how could he say something like that so easily? Alfred's smiled at Arthur and ruffled his already messy hair. "It's my job as a hero to help out those unfortunate enough to have friends."_

_"I-I beg your pardon? I have you know I have many friends!" Arthur shouted, his face turning red in embarrassment. _

_"Uh-huh, sure you do." Alfred had laughed at him, making Arthur even angrier._

Arthur was knocked out of his thoughts by a rather loud whistle. He looked up and noticed that all the first years were here. Gilbert and the female perfect for Slytherin stood in the center. Gilbert was standing on a chair, his hand near his mouth. He seemed to be the one who had whistled.

"Alright! Everyone have their sleeping gear?" The German didn't wait for an answer as he leapt down and towards the dorm entrance. "Then follow me. Do not make a sound to give us away or you're dead."

Arthur swallowed, hiding his small stuffed unicorn in his pocket. He knew it was unmanly to sleep with a toy, but it was one of his favorites. He could only fall asleep when he had Peony with him. Arthur followed, staying close to the back. He had no clue where he was going, but he ignored that minor detail. Arthur looked around as he followed them up the stairs, looking at the pictures move. He stopped when he saw a large painting of a dragon sleeping. The dragon snored rather loudly, blowing fire from its nose every now and again. Arthur was captivated by the art work, awed at its every detail and movement.

After about five minutes of watching it Arthur realized he had been left behind. He began to panic and he quickly ran up the rest of the steps and into the long empty hall. There were no candles burning except for one or two. The halls were completely empty of life and Arthur felt his heart beat quicken. He ran down the hall as quietly as he could, taking a right and hoping to find someone. Arthur took turn after turn and even tried to retrace his steps to go the other way. No matter what he tried Arthur couldn't find anyone, after a few more minutes of running around Arthur came to terms that he was completely lost.

* * *

A/N: Here's part two! Allow me to clear a few things up. In the first book (and movie) they really never called the names in Alphabetical order for the sorting. Next is about Arthur and his older brothers. Arthur's blood brother is Allistor Kirkland. Colin and Dylan are his step brothers. Colin and Allistor are both 14, Colin was just born in may while Allistor was born in November. I'm pretty sure you can guess that Colin, Dylan, and Allistor are actually Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. Colin-Ireland Dylan-Wales Allistor-Scotland

Thank you to my friends Victoria and Renee for being my editors~


	3. Chapter 3

Arthur began to panic, his heart pounding louder with each passing minute. He turned down a hall and stopped dead in his tracks. Further up he was able to hear the sound of footsteps coming closer along with a soft voice. The stale air seemed harder to move through as the frightened Brit took a step back. No longer caring if he was caught by a teacher he opened his mouth, "Gilbert? I-is that you?" He whispered.

The footsteps stopped and Arthur grew panicked. What if this wasn't the albino? Then who exactly would it be? Why would anyone be up at this ungodly hour? Then again, he was also awake.

Arthur shook his head, now was not the time to be thinking of such things. If this was indeed Gilbert, then he would help Arthur find the spot they were to sleep in. "Gilbert that is you right?" He spoke louder this time, squaring his shoulders and lifting his chin up. If this turned out to be someone else and not his house perfect than he would not allow any fear to be shown. He pulled out his wand even though he only knew spells he had read in books. He had not actually tested any of them out, therefore he was unsure if they worked or not.

The footsteps started up again, quickly turning into a sprint by the sound of it. Arthur took a step back, his hand shaking slightly. He concluded rather hastily that this was not his house perfect. Arthur took a few more steps back, the footsteps continued to get closer. Arthur swallowed roughly, his heart in his throat. He opened his mouth to utter a sound or a word but only air came out. Just as the Brit prepared himself to run he hesitated.

Arthur Kirkland was by no means a coward. He had befriended Grindylows and other magical creatures alike. He was a Slytherin to boot! Sure they weren't brave like Gryffindor students, but they had just as much heart! He would not let Slytherin be known as cowards. He may have not gotten into the house he had wanted, but he sure as hell wasn't going to let that silly detail ruin his life. He would prove he was even greater than his brothers, and he would do that in Slytherin.

With his heart set, Arthur stood his ground and raised his wand. "Halt now! I-I know a bunch of spells and I'm not afraid to use them!" Arthur tried to not let his voice quiver. The footsteps were louder now and before he knew it they were rounding the corner at him. Arthur was expecting either a teacher or a creature of sorts, but not a frightened American slamming into him and knocking him over.

"Arthur!" The sobbing voice of Alfred sounded above the winded Brit.

Arthur groaned, trying to roll to his side. That attempt failed however because Alfred had a death grip on his waist. He was sobbing into his ropes, getting snot and tears all over it. Arthur regained his breath before shoving at his shoulders.

"Alfred! You dumb bloke get off of me! What in god's name are you doing in the forbidden part of Hogwarts this late at night?" Arthur ignored the fact he too was in the forbidden part in favor of removing himself from the American.

Alfred hiccupped and sat up, rubbing his nose with his sleeve. "I-I saw you and your house mates going over here and I followed. Then you started running so I chased after you, then I lost you and I got scared! T-then I saw a ghost that was covered in blood and then there was another one who almost pulled off his head! His head!" Alfred started sniffling again. "There are ghosts at this school Arthur!"

Arthur squinted at him through the already faint light. "Hold on a second. 1, I'm going to guess you're frightened of ghosts. And 2, I'm also going to guess you came to this school without knowing of the house ghosts. The one you saw that was all bloody was my house ghost, The Bloody Baron. Your house ghost Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, also known as Nearly Headless Nick, was the one who could nearly remove his head. Wait a minute… Just what kind of daft buffoon comes to this school not knowing about the ghosts?"

Arthur groaned as Alfred started sobbing again, truly frightened. Arthur watched him awkwardly, unsure of what to do. Arthur cleared his throat, patting Alfred on the back slowly. "Cheer up Alfred, the ghosts here are not all bad. Trust me, they're rather really friendly. You're just scared of nothing!"

"I'm n-not scared." Alfred pouted and sniffled again.

Arthur rolled his eyes and frowned at him. "Now listen here you," Arthur stood up and placed his hands on his hips, glaring down at Alfred. "You are a Gryffindor are you not? Gryffindor are known for their courage and bravery! Are you saying the sorting hat put you into the wrong house?"

Alfred sniffed, whipping his nose and standing up. "No."

"Then buck up! Show me some Gryffindor bravery. Or are you just going to start crying like a baby again?" Arthur smirked at Alfred who pouted at him. "Well?" He said when Alfred hadn't responded.

The American watched him for a few more heartbeats before his familiar smile was back. It wasn't as big but it was still a smile. He nodded his head and grabbed Arthur's hand. "Just watch Arthur! I'll find us our way back in no time!"

"That's all fine and dandy but do you really need to hold my hand?" Arthur followed Alfred, who ignored his comment. Arthur sighed and let it be, glancing up at the few lit candles they passed.

"Is it down this way? O-or this way? I'm pretty sure it's this way."

"Alfred! We've been down this way before!" Arthur groaned, exasperated.

"How do you know that?" Alfred shot back, annoyed at the Brit's constant nagging.

"We've passed that painting so many times already! I think I've remembered every brush stroke to it!" Arthur shoved a finger at the painting of sleeping sheep. Next to it was a lit candle which helped illuminate the painting. The sheep in it stirred but didn't wake.

Alfred groaned and flopped down, pulling his knees up to his chest. "Ugh… Let's just give up. We're never going to find our way back."

Arthur sighed and sat down next to him, resting the back of his head against the wall.

"What were you even doing going up here?" Alfred looked over at Arthur who was staring at the painting across from them.

"It was the Slytherin Welcoming Ceremony. Gilbert was going to have us sleep in the forbidden part of Hogwarts. I got lost and couldn't find them." He said bluntly.

"Oh."

They remained silent for a long while before Arthur stood up. It was getting rather cold and he was not in any mood to get sick. The best thing to do was to keep moving and hope they find their way back.

"Well get up Alfred, we need to keep walking."

He waited.

Silence.

"Alfred?" Again there was silence.

Glancing down at Alfred he saw the slow rise of his shoulders, the blasted American had fallen asleep! Arthur leaned over and shook his shoulder.

"Alfred, wake up." He remained unresponsive. Arthur shook him again, this time harder. "Alfred. Alfred!"

He groaned and stood up straight, placing his hands on his hips. He tilted his head, unsure on how he was going to do this. It seemed not even an explosion could wake this kid. He looked around and bit his lip. "Ok. I'll go look for a better place for us to sleep and you…." He glanced down at Alfred. "Just stay here…"

Arthur walked down the hall and looked around. He bit his thumb and continued walking. "Damn. We seriously need a place to sleep…."

He stopped when he reached the end of the hall, turning around he started to walk back to Alfred. "If not one of us is seriously going to get sick. If that happens then people will wonder how we got sick and why we were out late! Then I'll seriously get in trouble and my parents will be informed. I can just see it now, a howler during breakfast with my mother screaming at how much of a disappointment I was. They'll pull me out of Hogwarts and never allow me to practice magic again!"

Arthur let out a cry of distress, tossing his head back and holding it with both hands, tugging slightly at the blond strands. "Where am I going to find a place like that?"

He stopped when there was the sound of stone moving. Wait…. Stone moving? Arthur whipped around and watched the wall to his right form a tall door. Arthur gasped and his eyes grew wide. He felt pure joy well up in the pit of his stomach. "Is this what I think it is?" He moved towards the door, taking a deep breath and shoving it open. Inside was a fairly large room, a queen sized bed right next to a crackling fire place. The room only had those two things in it; the rest of it was empty. The bed looked soft and inviting to the tired boy, calling his name with sweet words. Arthur shook his head to clear his thoughts of leaving Alfred out on the cold floor.

Arthur felt giddy and turned around, sprinting back to Alfred. "Alfred, wake up! You are not going believe what I found! I found the Room of Requirement. Alfred!" He shook the sleeping boy angrily. He huffed and shoved him rather rudely. Alfred toppled sideways and woke up instantly when he made contact with the floor. He scrambled to sit up, rubbing his eye.

"What is it? What's going on?" He mumbled drowsily.

"Alfred! I found the Room of Requirement!" Arthur took his hand and hoisted him up.

"The wah?" Alfred yawned, clearly too sleepy to think properly.

"Oh bother… never mind. I found us a place to sleep." Arthur helped Alfred walk back to the room. They went in and Arthur closed the door with his foot, very aware that on the outside the door has disappeared. He brought Alfred to the bed and chuckled as he face planted into it. He let out an appreciative sigh and Arthur gave him a shove. "Scoot over you twit. I want to sleep too."

Alfred shifted over, crawling under the blankets. Arthur followed suit and enjoyed the sweetness of comfort the bed gave. He mumbled a small "thank you" to the room, closing his eyes and drifting off into a deep slumber.

The next morning Arthur was rudely shaken awake from his dream of following fairies to a lake. He cracked one eye open, glaring at the intruder. He was taken aback by the brightly shining eyes of Alfred. Alfred grinned at him, his glasses hanging off his face in a haphazardly way. Arthur continued to watch those eyes, captivated by the dark flecks of blue and silver trapped inside of them. He studied the American, unaware that he was also being studied.

Alfred watched Arthur's eyes, enjoying the bright green that instantly gave off the feel of magic. He silently agreed to himself that Arthur's eyes went really well with the Slytherin green and silver. He pulled his gaze away and bounced off the bed.

"So where is this place?" He asked over his shoulder, looking around.

"Idiot I told you last night. It's the room of requirement. It appears to those who need it most. But you have to pass by it at a minimum of three times." Arthur yawned, rubbing his eyes clear of sleep.

"Dude this is so cool!" He leapt back onto the bed and bounced in front of Arthur. "This could be our secret hide out! We could come here and no one would know! We can hang out here and stuff and you can help me with lessons and teach me how to talk to those grinylow things!" Alfred was bubbling over in excitement, his eyes wide.

Arthur couldn't help the small smile pulling at his lips. "Stupid, they're called Grindylows and you need to have the ability to talk to them in the first place. Besides we haven't even had our lessons yet." Arthur hesitated and his eyes grew as wide as saucers. He looked at Alfred who stared back at him with equally wide eyes. Arthur threw off the blankets and fixed his clothes up, trying to smooth down his hair in his quick haste.

"Oh bullocks! What time is it?" Alfred tried to straighten his tie; Arthur had to lend him a hand.

"I dunno. Do you think we're late?"

"I hope not!" Arthur grimaced, running to the door with Alfred hot on his heels.

"What class do you have first?" Alfred opened the door and Arthur bolted out.

"Um potions I think." Arthur waited for Alfred to pull the door shut.

"I have that second period." Alfred puffed out his cheeks. Arthur looked around, recognizing the hall they were in based off the paintings.

"Alfred, we're on the seventh floor." Alfred looked around, confused. He wondered how they had gotten to the seventh floor which was almost two floors away from the forbidden section. He shrugged and looked across the hall at a painting of a young woman flirting with a man and giggling. Alfred tugged on Arthur's hand and smiled at him, pointing at the painting.

"Artie, that's how we'll find the room again, by this picture. Come here after your classes end alright? We'll use this room for a place to hang out got it?" Alfred smiled happily at him, awaiting an answer.

Arthur looked at him then at the disappearing door behind them. "Alfred really... do you honestly think I can manage to sneak out after getting lost last night? I'm pretty sure Gilbert will hold it against me, I'll have to explain to him how I ended up lost and even still he might not believe me."

"Come on Artie, please?" Alfred looked at Arthur with the biggest eyes he had ever seen. He stuck his bottom lip out in a pout, looking darn cute while also looking like a kicked puppy. Wait…. Cute?

Arthur shook his head harshly, ignoring the heat rising to his cheeks ever so slightly. He cleared his throat and gave a sigh as if he was given a heavy burden. "Oh alright, I don't see why not. But I'm not agreeing because you asked me to, I just have nothing to do after my classes end. I just want to make that clear."

"Yeah right." Alfred grinned, happy he won. He pumped a fist in the air and let out a wild call. "Woohoo! I'll meet you here Artie, I gotta go anyways! Class calls!" He waved at the Brit before running down the hall and disappearing around the corner, knowing his way now with the light's aid. Arthur gasped, running down the same way to get to his classes. He silently hoped that Gilbert would believe him when he explained how he gotten lost.

For the next two weeks Arthur attended his classes with vigor. He had told Gilbert what had happened and had found out that Gilbert and the others had been caught by the grounds keeper.

_"It was fucking annoying. I freaking have detention for an entire week. If only Molly hadn't started blubbering about something crawling across her leg then we wouldn't have been caught." The German had snorted angrily. He had been lounging in the Slytherin Common room when Arthur had returned to deposit his books into his room._

_"So it looks like we're gonna have to think of another ceremony." Gilbert had then left to his dorm room to go and think of another plan. _

Arthur and Alfred would then meet up after all of their classes and sneak to the Room of Requirement. There they would either help each other with homework or talk about unimportant things.

It turns out Alfred was rather good at flying on a broom. With more practice he could end up making the Gryffindor team, though Arthur had told him he should wait till his second or third year to try out. Arthur however was horrid when it came to flying on a broom stick. He would either lean too far to one side or to far forward; most of the time he would fall flat on his rump.

Arthur was, on the other hand, the best in his class when it came to magic. He picked up spells one after the other, always the first to understand and complete the spell perfectly. He managed to do simple spells right off the bat, no help needed. He took great pride in this, feeling a little smug he was better at something than Alfred was.

Arthur was better at the magical aspects, Alfred was better at the physical parts. Alfred got by with Arthur's help when he didn't understand a subject. They both however, were equally good at their astronomy class. The stars and heavens had captivated them both, leading to Arthur sometimes reading myths about the stars to Alfred.

Today was Saturday; Arthur was at the library checking out books of all kinds. He hummed happily, pulling books on magical incantations from their shelves. He planned to read them in the Room of Requirement, which was his favorite place to go. When he was there he was alone (with the exception of Alfred) with his thoughts and books. Alfred and he had agreed that the way to open the doors was to need a place to hang out; only those who knew of that "password" were able to find the door.

Arthur walked down the familiar hall, books towering higher than him. He struggled to keep his grip on the weights, breathing out in large puffs. He walked past the hidden door three times, thinking of his need for the place where people of different houses could meet up without tension. The door soon appeared and he pushed it open with his back.

Alfred looked up from where he was laying on the floor of the larger room. The room had changed to match their needs; having a large enough space to be fully spread out with a large number of people. In one of the corners was a soft carpet made of fake fur, piles of pillows littering around it for a napping part. There were even tables to do work on if they so needed. Yes, the room had transformed to meet their needs.

"Hay Artie! What's with all the books?" Alfred was doing his Friday homework on the floor, apparently finding it more comfortable on the cool tile.

"They're spell books; I wanted to try some harder spells than what we're learning in class. But that'd be too dangerous to do in my dorm even if I'm staying alone." Arthur explained as he set them down on a table with a dull thud.

"And you thought doing it here was any safer?" Alfred watched him, an eyebrow raised in question.

"Frankly put, yes, I did. Here has much more room and no one will hear if something goes wrong."

"But isn't that only dangerous for us then?" Alfred stood up as Arthur selected a book and opened it.

"Well you're welcome to leave if you'd like." Arthur read down the page quickly, stopping at a spell he liked the sound of.

"No way! I wanna see the great Arthur Kirkland perform his magic! Besides, if you get hurt then I'd have to be the hero and save you." He put his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on his heels.

"Yes yes of course you would." Arthur mumbled sarcastically. He pulled out his wand and cleared his throat.

"What spell are you doing?" Alfred moved closer till he was standing next to Arthur.

"It's the Patronus Charm; it's really hard to do a full charm. Hopefully I can't try this. If it's too hard then I'll do spells weaker than it. Ahem…" Arthur cleared his throat again, raising his wand and closing his eyes. _The book said to make it work I must picture my happiest thoughts… happiest thoughts….. Happy thoughts…._

Images of Arthur's childhood flashed through his mind. The first time he encountered the small kingdom of fairies living in the woods behind his home. They had been friendly to the young seer, weaving tales to the child while singing their songs.

The time when he fell into the lake when running from his brothers, he had almost drowned for he did not know how to swim. He had woken up on shore, the retreating form of a unicorn walking away. He would never forget the pure beauty of that moment and how it always managed to steal his breath away.

He then remembered his time with Alfred, sure it has been very short, but he had enjoyed it for the most part. The small times Alfred managed to make him laugh, the comfort of hanging around the boy, and the pure fun he seemed to radiate.

Arthur opened his mouth slowly, clinging tightly to those memories he loved so dearly. "Expecto Patronum."

Arthur felt the power surge through him and well up, escaping from his wand and creating a form. He opened his eyes to see if the spell had worked, instantly shielding them from the bright light. Alfred did the same, letting out a yelp at the blinding glow.

Both boys cracked their eyes open slowly before their eyes widened and their mouths dropped. Standing a few feet in front of them was the completed, corporeal Patronus. Arthur's Patronus had taken its form in a matter of seconds, making one boy squeak in awe and the other gasp in adoration and joy.

From its flowing misty head down to its graceful yet strong shoulders to its long curving tail that ended in a long pool of hair. Its slender legs leading to cloven hooves with a length of hair on the back of them, its ears grazed daintily on its snow white head, its long hair spilling over its neck and fading from view. The stunning horn sprouting from its head and seeming to glow with the dance of lights, Arthur Kirkland's Patronus was a unicorn.

The creature moved up to its wizard, Arthur taking a step closer also. The unicorn Patronus moved quickly, dancing around Arthur in a spurt of leaps and prancing. Arthur turned his head to follow its movements, making a full circle all the while laughing in joy. His full-sized unicorn Patronus took a turn and danced a circle around Alfred who whipped around to follow after it. The Patronus disappeared into a misty form, the happiness it carried settling into the air.

Arthur clapped his hands together and laughed again. "That was beautiful! I didn't expect it to work so easily like that!" He clutched his wand close to his heart and looked down at it, smiling. "So this is my Patronus Charm… It was wonderful…"

"Woah." Alfred breathed. Arthur looked up at the awestruck boy. "Dude… that was awesome!" Alfred ran up to Arthur and grabbed his hands. "I've never seen anything so cool! I mean it looked like a ghost at first but then it wasn't and it was like it was dancing too! It was so pretty and everything!"

Arthur blushed and smiled shyly. "T-thanks… I guess."

Alfred turned back to the books, turning to a random page. "Do another spell! Like something super strong and powerful. Oh how about this one! It's a Flying Charm. It makes things like brooms and rugs fly. Dude that sounds so cool we have to try it!"

"Flying spell? Why on earth would we use that?" Arthur moved to stand next to him, taking another book and flipping through it.

"Cuz flying is awesome, duh." Arthur scoffed at that, rolling his eyes.

"I would rather not, flying is not my forte."

Alfred puffed out his cheeks, turning the page. "You're lame." He read for a different spell he was sure him and Arthur would enjoy.

"Oh I found one I rather like." Arthur closed the book after rereading the spell twice. He stood in front of Alfred and held up his wand. "Remain completely still Alfred."

Alfred's head shot up from the book he was looking at to Arthur, then down to his wand. He instantly took a step back, raising his hands in surrender. "W-wait a second Artie! Don't go using me as your lab rat!"

"Now this spell is completely safe, stop acting like a baby. Ready?" Arthur took a deep breath and Alfred took a step back.

"Wait wait Arthur!" Alfred shook his hands in front of him as if it could stop the crazy young wizard.

"Multicorfors!" Arthur moved his wand in a flicking manner.

Alfred put his arms over his face to protect him from his sure demise. When all was silent he peeked from behind his arms at Arthur.

"Well… not bad if I do say so myself." Arthur nodded, happy with the outcome as he observed Alfred.

"W-what did you do?" Alfred hesitated, unsure if he wanted the answer.

"I only did a spell that changed your clothing colour. Now it's Slytherin's house colours." Alfred's eyes grew wide and he let out a cry of disbelief.

Looking down at his clothes he pulled at his tie, now donned with the Slytherin colours. He looked at the inside of his cloak which had turned a dark forest green. He let out another cry of terror and glared at Arthur. Arthur was covering his mouth, trying to prevent himself from laughing; his shoulders shook violently from the effort it took.

Alfred pulled out his wand and pointed it at Arthur. "Multicorfors!"

In a flash Arthur's clothes were now Gryffindor colours, making the Brit gasp. Before he would have been happy to wear these colours, but now he rather liked the Slytherin colours more. He looked down at his clothes then slowly dragged his gaze up to the smug look on Alfred's face.

"Why you barmy daft oaf! What right do you have to change my house colours?" Arthur growled out.

"Well what right do you have to change mine?" Alfred shot back, equally angry.

"Why you….. Have at you Gryffindor scum!" Arthur held his wand out in front of him, puffing out his chest and lifting his chin.

Alfred caught the playful tone, grinning slyly at him and also raising his wand. "Prepare to meet your maker you evil Slytherin!"

Alfred ran at Arthur who let out a yelp, turning and sprinting around the other side of the table, giggling all the while. They ran around the room, switching between who was doing the chasing and who was being chased. Arthur soon grew tired, no match for Alfred's endless energy. He bent over, slightly wheezing.

"Enough. I'm done. I can't breathe." Arthur coughed out and flopped on his back onto the pile of pillows in the corner. Alfred gave a whine of disappointment, sitting down next to Arthur before launching over and landing on his stomach. Arthur lurched up and let out a groan, gasping for air. "You bloody tosser…. Get off me!" He managed to say.

"Hay Artie, I've got a question. Why do you keep using those funny words, do they mean something?" Arthur looked down at the boy occupying his stomach.

"Um… well…" Arthur's colourful vocabulary had come from his brothers, having picked it up when he was rather young. His mother had nearly fainted when he started spewing such words at dinner one time. "They're words you shouldn't go around saying to people."

Alfred stopped playing with one pillow that had fringe at the edges. He looked up into Arthur's mesmerizing green eyes and cracked a grin. "Oh? Are they **_bad_**words?"

Arthur thought for a moment before nodding awkwardly. "Well yes, they are."

"You'll need to wash your mouth out with soap then! My momma says if you use bad words than they'll stain your tongue all icky and the only way to get it out is to wash your mouth with soap!" Alfred swung his legs back and forth, poking at Arthurs arm.

"Oh please, that's a bunch of poppycock." Arthur rolled his eyes, resting his head against a pillow. He figured it would be nice for a nap seeing as how he was growing tired.

A large gurgling noise however managed to break though his concentration. Arthur looked down at Alfred who was now sitting and holding his stomach. "Artie! I'm starving!" He whined.

Arthur drew his eyebrows together and gave a small sigh followed by a smile. "Fine fine, let's go see if they're serving lunch yet. We might have missed it."

Alfred looked devastated at the thought; latching onto Arthur's sleeve he tugged him to the door. "Well then let's hurry up!"

Arthur looked down at his clothes which had been changed to the Hufflepuff colour sometime in their little squabble. Alfred's clothes however had been changed to a fluorescent pink and green. He patted Alfred's shoulder and the boy impatiently stopped.

"What now?" He whined and shifted from foot to foot restlessly. "We can come back for your books later can't we?"

"No Alfred, that's not the problem. Here, I'll fix it." Arthur pulled out his wand and quickly said the simple spell, changing their clothes back to their normal colours. "There. Now we can go."

With that said Alfred practically dragged Arthur out the door, it closed behind them and disappeared from sight. "Whoo! Come on let's go get food!" He kept a firm hold on Arthur's hand, the other one raised in the air to symbolize his enthusiasm.

"Wait a second Alfred! Slow down!" Arthur was pulled along, unaware that they had been spotted by a small trio of young Gryffindor girls, their gazes turning cold at the sight of the Slytherin being a little too friendly to the favored Gryffindor first year.

* * *

A/N: hello! Thank you to my editors for helping me, Renee and Victoria! Also, thank you for reading this. I'm pretty sure you're curious as to Alfred and Arthur's age. Well right now they're both 11. But then you might be thinking, "Isn't that to young?" Well don't worry! I've factored that in and I promise you it won't happen at that age. Kids at age 11 aren't thinking of that kind of thing. But trust me, it will be UsUk. I put it as rated T because i wasn't sure how far i wanted it to exactly go. Maybe when i get used to writing and such then i'll post a story with a higher rating... maybe. Then my editors would have to read it for me, i would need to ask if they're fine with that... Well i hope you'll continue to stick with me! I have a bunch more idea's for stories but i would like to get further into this one first. Though, the next idea i have is a pairing of Japan and China... i'm not sure how many would enjoy it though... c: But anyways, thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed part 3.


	4. Chapter 4

"Arthur-san!"

Arthur looked over his shoulder at the approaching Japanese man. Behind him were two more Hufflepuff's tailing after him. One was a ditsy looking lad with chestnut brown hair and a loose curl on his head. The other one was a taller male with Steele blond hair slicked back along with icy cold blue eyes. Kiku stopped in front of Arthur and smiled.

"Arthur-san, I hope I'm not bothering you, but I must ask you something."

"Oh you're no bother Kiku, in fact it has been awhile since we talked hasn't it? How are your studies going?" Arthur smiled back, it was Wednesday and Arthur had just finished up his last class of the day.

"They are going fine thank you. Ah, excuse my rudeness." He turned to his two companions. "This is Ludwig Beilschmidt and Feliciano Vargas. They are second years in Hufflepuff like I am. You most likely know Ludwig-san's older brother, Gilbert-san correct?"

"Ah, Gilbert is his brother? Well yes I do know him; he is my house perfect after all. How do you do, I'm Arthur Kirkland." Arthur held out his hand and Ludwig shook it.

"Hullo, it is nice to meet you. I apologize for any trouble my brother may have caused." He nodded his head in greeting.

"Oh don't worry; he is a little hard to get used to though." Arthur admitted and cracked an awkward smile.

"Ciao! It's nice to meet you Arthur!" Feliciano enveloped Arthur in a large hug, much to the Brit's horror.

Arthur wasn't used to such affection from strangers; therefore it threw him off harshly. Ludwig thankfully pried off his friend from the scared Brit.

"Feli, please." Ludwig looked rather troubled.

"U-um so Kiku, what is it you wanted to talk to me?" Arthur glanced back at Kiku.

"Ah, have you seen a white cat with a pink bow around campus? My… friend… he lost his cat and has been looking all over the place for her." Kiku drew his brows together in slight worry.

"Oh? No I don't think I have, but I will keep an eye out."

"Oh thank you. Its name is Kitty and it belongs to Wang Yao from Ravenclaw. If you find her then bring her to me, I'll return her to him." Kiku looked slightly relieved at having Arthur's help.

"I'll do that." Arthur smiled at the Japanese boy.

Kiku opened his mouth to say something but was cut off as Arthur was tackled to the ground in a flurry of robes and blond hair.

"Arthur! What are you doing waiting around here for? Come on let's go already!" Alfred spoke from his position of sitting on Arthur's back. Arthur had been knocked to the ground and was spread out on his stomach, his books scattered in front of him. Arthur groaned and Kiku looked panicked.

"Arthur-san, are you alright?" He looked torn between trying to help the Brit up and relying on his taller friend to help Arthur.

"I'm alright kiku no need to worry- Alfred get off of me you daft oaf!" He snapped, glaring over his shoulder at Alfred. Alfred grinned down at him and reached out, tugging on some of Arthur's hair gently.

"You shouldn't make that face often or it'll get stuck like that." He poked at the crease in Arthur's eyebrows and grinned again. Arthur growled in annoyance and pushed against the ground, managing to make Alfred tumble sideways.

He landed with a thump and Arthur stood up, dusting himself off angrily.

"Al you shouldn't tackle people like that." Arthur looked up at the boy who stood a few feet from them. He was the one who looked really similar to Alfred. Arthur blinked sheepishly; he hadn't even noticed the boy.

"Ah don't sweat it Mattie! Artie let's me tackle him all the time." Alfred waved his hand nonchalantly; he remained sitting happily in the grass.

"I do not." Arthur huffed in annoyance. "And it's Arthur. How many times must I tell you that? Honestly it's like it goes through one ear and out the other. You should pay attention more or you'll end up missing something important and then where will you be?" He paused in his scolding to look up at Kiku and his friends. Kiku was shifting on his feet awkwardly while Ludwig was entertaining Feliciano.

"Ah, excuse my rudeness. Um Kiku, this is Alfred Jones. Alfred, this is Kiku Honda, Feliciano Vargas, and Ludwig Beilschmidt."

Alfred stood up and dusted his pant bottoms off, grinning. "Nice to meet you, I'm Alfred F. Jones. This is my brother Matthew Williams. We have different last names cuz our parents split up and he went with my mom so he changed it to her maiden name."

Matthew gave a shy smile and a small wave, hugging the polar bear back pack closer to him. Arthur gave a kind smile in return, holding out his hand. "Nice to meet you Matthew; It must be hard being Alfred's brother." Arthur joked.

Alfred hugged Arthur tightly, "Aww Artie! That's mean!" He whined.

Matthew covered his mouth in a small giggle, "No I don't mind. You do get used to him after awhile."

"I see." Arthur made a small chuckle and Alfred made a false gasp of horror.

"Not Mattie! You evil Slytherin, how dare you corrupt Mattie's mind with your lies!" He wriggled his fingers in a menacing manner, making Arthur take a step back. "I will make you free Mattie from your curse!"

"Now hold on a minute Alfred. Wait a second. Alfred. Alfred!" Arthur shrieked as Alfred tackled him to the ground for a second time that day. He was then attacked with fingers at his ribs, tickling him violently. Between his laughs and gasps for air he struggled to shove Alfred off of him. "Alfred, get off!"

"Well Arthur-san, we'd best be going. Do have fun. It was nice to meet you Alfred-san." Kiku made a slight bow; not affected that he was being ignored. "Matthew-san, would you like to join us?"

Matthew glanced at his brother who was practically suffocating the poor Slytherin with tickles. He then looked back at Kiku and smiled, "Yes please." The group of four left the tussling two, a new conversation lifting up amongst them.

"I said- Off!" Arthur gave one large shove and Alfred toppled backwards.

"Oof!" He grunted as he landed on his rump. He winced and looked at Arthur who was trying to catch his breath.

Alfred laughed and flopped on his back, looking up at the sky. Arthur rolled his eyes and lay down next to Alfred, his breathing started to even out gradually. The two were unaware of the accusing and judgmental stares their fellow house members were giving them.

"Oh Arthur! I just remembered what I really really really wanted to tell you!"

Arthur looked over into the blue depths, his own bright green eyes holding the gaze. "What is so important that you'd want to tell me?"

"Well we were in class in Defense against the Dark Arts and Professor Braginski was telling us about how we'd be having a joint class with another house of first years." He used his hands to gesture, his excitement to much to put into simple words.

"And?" Arthur inquired, motioning for him to go on.

"Well it turns out we'll be having it with Slytherin! So that means you! Isn't that awesome?" Alfred laughed, his loud and happy voice ringing clearly. He launched over and landed on Arthur's stomach. Arthur groaned and coughed, closing his eyes and furrowing his brows. "It's really awesome huh?"

"Yes… it's wonderful. Simply smashing." Arthur coughed, cracking a small smile.

"I know right? Dude it's gonna be so awesome!" Alfred began to ramble and Arthur simply let him, throwing in an "hmm" or nod of the head every now and again.

"Oi, Allistor, you see that?" Colin looked over his shoulder at the two boys lying in the open field.

"What?" He looked up from the game of poker he and Dylan were playing. Colin flicked his head over to the two who were now standing and gathering their things. Allistor stood up, his auburn hair catching the light in a beautiful way. He narrowed his eyes and leaned over the small brick wall Colin was sitting on.

"Well I'll be damned. Isn't that the little runt?" His thick Scottish accent had been picked up from his mother; Arthur had gotten the British accent from his father.

"And Alfred's with him. You know, the little first year that's good at flying." Colin scooted over as Dylan came to observe.

"I was always wondering where the kid disappeared to after classes. Looks like he was hanging around a Slytherin the whole time." Dylan commented and looked over at Allistor. He watched his brother's face turn into a frown.

"A little to close ain't he?" Colin murmured, a smirk grazing his pale lips. He was referring to how Alfred had grabbed Arthur's hand and began pulling him along. "Where is it you think they disappear to everyday?"

"Why don't we just ask? It's pretty clear Alfred's got a few screws missin' from that thing he calls a noggin. He'll be sure to show his elder class men, right Allistor?"

Allistor glared at Alfred and Arthur's retreating backs before turning around and going back to their game. "Who gives a damn how the runt spends his time? If it ends up causing trouble then we'll interfere. Till then it ain't our problem."

"And what do you mean by trouble? Till he makes Arthur cry? That won't be really hard to do; he's such a cry baby." Dylan snickered and sat back across from Allistor.

"But if he does then we'll kick his ass like with the others right Allistor?" Colin smiled as he opened up his book.

"After we beat the shit outa Arthur, I ain't having him think I've gone soft." Allistor hissed and slammed down his hand. Dylan groaned as he again lost to his brother.

The three brothers did honestly love Arthur in their own way, not that he knew. They just picked on him a whole lot because they found it fun. However, it was only them who were allowed to pick on Arthur. When they were kids they had beaten up anyone who had made fun of Arthur for being strange. They protected their little brother secretly, though none of them would be willing to admit it. They would continue to deny protecting him; they would take it to their graves if they had to.

Colin glanced up at the faint figures of Alfred and Arthur; he gave a small smile and looked back down at his book. "He's finally opening up to someone. We'll mess up that kid if he hurts him won't we?"

"You bet your ass we will." Allistor growled.

"Today we will be learning on how to use counter spells. You can use any un-harmful spell. I might not even mind if you use harmful spells, but then the headmaster would have my head, da?" The Russian professor gave his cold creepy smile. His eyes surveyed the class and he smiled. "You will be choosing pairs of the Slytherin household, but since there aren't many Slytherin, then you will be pairing up with other Gryffindor students. Now go choose your partners quickly, gender doesn't matter."

In a flash the empty seat next to Arthur was occupied by a bouncing Alfred. Arthur rolled his eyes and sighed, but he couldn't hide the smile on his face.

Alfred had tried to get his attention the entire class by whispering Arthur's name, throwing paper balls, even using his wand to levitate the back of Arthur's cloak so he'd notice. Arthur had tried to remain a gentleman and not clobber the daft boy, though that was proving to be harder than he thought. Alfred was now trying to whisper to Arthur about something that happened in his first hour, not that Arthur really cared.

Professor Braginski stopped talking and looked at Alfred who had yet to notice their creepy teacher's gaze. Arthur hit his arm rather hard and Alfred jumped, looking up at Ivan and giving him a guilty smile.

"Mister Jones, mister Kirkland, is there a problem?" His smile made it even creepier to be singled out.

"No sir. No problems at all." Arthur quickly said, sending Alfred a harsh glare.

"Yeah, no problems sir." Alfred shrugged his shoulders and smiled sheepishly at Arthur when Ivan turned around to write on the board. Apparently he was writing down the rules.

Everyone had chosen their own house members, none wanting to mingle with the other houses. The Slytherin's sneered at the Gryffindor students while the Gryffindor students sent them glares. Only Alfred and Arthur were sitting as a pair, the both of them not involved in the hostility.

Arthur could read the atmosphere well enough to know that this would be a dangerous battle. The Slytherin's were sure to show off their magic skill and "pure-blood talent" as they put it. Alfred, being the daft fool he was, remained ignorant to the growing tense air.

"Alright, now that you are in groups we will start." He paused when he noticed Alfred had started talking again. Arthur tried shushing him, but it was already too late. "Mister Jones, since you seem really excited for this I'll do you a favor and have you go first. But, I'll switch your opponent. Drella, you will switch opponents with Mister Jones."

"What? But professor!" Drella, a first year Slytherin with black hair in two pigtails, stood from her seat. Her dark brown eyes narrowed and she puffed out her cheeks. "Why do I have to be paired up with a snotty Gryffindor?"

Her partner, Helga, also stood up. "Sir, they were the one's talking. I don't see why we have to switch because they can't shut up." She glared at the two boys. Arthur narrowed his eyes and returned her sour gaze ten-fold. She looked slightly started at the obvious hostility Arthur was easily given off.

"Because I said so. Alfred, Drella, you two will go first. Now the rules are simple. When I say start you will cast spells on one another and the one who stays in the ring wins." He pushed the chalk board out of the way and revealed a ring taped onto the floor. "This class period is to try and get kids to join the Dueling club. Its loads of fun." He smiled and let out a small laugh.

Alfred grumbled as he walked up and into the ring, directed into the center by Ivan. Drella was put in front of him and she sent Alfred a smug glare. Arthur watched her, appalled. That walking clown was definitely thinking she already won. Arthur sent Alfred a glare that clearly read, "You'd better win or else."

Alfred gulped and raised his hand. "Um Professor Braginski, I can't really fight a girl. I'm a hero, heroes don't fight girls."

"What? Afraid you'll lose, Gryffindor?" Drella sneered at him, pulling out her wand with dainty fingers. Alfred narrowed his eyes, not liking being talked down to.

"Ready? Turn around with backs to each other, then take three steps." Ivan ignored them, taking an empty seat to watch. Alfred also pulled out his wand, gripping it tightly in his hand.

Doing exactly that they then waited for Ivan's signal. Ivan smiled happily and nodded. "Start."

Alfred whipped around, his expression determined. He moved with quick reflexes, easily beating her in speed.

"_Multicorfors_!" He shouted.

The snooty Slytherin gasped in pure horror as she watched her clothes change to a sickly yellow and horrid purple. The Gryffindor students broke out laughing and pointing at her. Arthur covered his mouth to prevent a snort from coming out.

Drella glared daggers at Alfred and raised her wand. "_Obscuro_!"

A blindfold magically appeared and wrapped around Alfred's head. He let out a yelp as his vision was suddenly blocked. Unsure of where he was pointing he flicked his wand.

"Uh….. _Petrificus Totalus_!" He heard a gasp and then the thud of a body. He managed to rip off the blindfold to see Drella on the ground, her body rigid and her posture like a soldier in attention.

Arthur grinned, that was one of the spells he and Alfred had looked at in the books he checked out. Alfred had aimlessly tested it out on Arthur which had left him like that for a good hour, making Alfred panic and Arthur oh so very angry. Alfred could only practice the midlevel spells, harder spells weren't his forte. Arthur was the king when it came to that.

Ivan held up a hand, deeming the match over. "Since Drella can't move, this fight goes to Alfred. Good job." The Gryffindor's cheered for their house mate, all rage at him being friends with a Slytherin forgotten at the moment.

Alfred strolled back to Arthur cockily while Drella's comrades dragged her stiff form out of the way. Arthur smiled at Alfred and whispered a soft praise. It was enough to make Alfred beam twice as bright, for Arthur's compliments were never frequent.

Arthur's match ended up being last, he was going against Helga. In their classes Helga was second best when it came to magic, Arthur was first. Their transfiguration class was one she took pride in, never once has she messed up her spell. However, neither had Arthur and he preformed it so easily without using unnecessary extra amounts of magic. Alfred wished him a quick good luck as Arthur stood.

When their backs were to each other with wands at the ready, Arthur's heart was beating quicker. Which spell should he use? One he learned outside of class? One he learned in class? He wanted to show how good he was even if it was over a simple duel. He wanted the Gryffindor house to realize there was a Slytherin who wasn't all talk. He wanted them to see that Arthur Kirkland was better than his brothers.

Taking his three steps Arthur took a deep breath, calming down his racing heart. He needed to keep a level head or the spell would react on his emotions and go astray. _Calm and collected, I need to stay calm and collected. _He thought to himself over and over.

"You may begin." With Ivan's signal the duel started.

"_Bombarda_!"

Arthur knew what was coming and dropped to the ground and lay flat on his stomach as the spell was cast over him and the explosion hit the book case causing papers and book's to fly everywhere. _This harlot is trying to kill me!_

Alfred stood up, his seat knocking back in his haste. "Arthur!"

Arthur flicked his wand quickly, "_Alarte Ascendare_!"

Helga let out an unsteady gasp as she was hoisted high into the air and suddenly dropped. She let out a yelp as she hit the floor and groaned, rubbing her backside. Arthur quickly stood up, poised and ready to counter attack any spell she threw. She growled and grinded her teeth together, she stood up and readied her wand.

"_Aqua Eructo_!" A jet of water came from her wand and hit Arthur, knocking him back a few steps. He coughed and spit out water, whipping his face and shaking out his now soaked hair.

He glared at her through his wet bangs and swung his wand downwards. "_Cantis_!"

Suddenly, Helga burst out singing old show tunes. Her voice was horrible and cracked in all the wrong places. The entire class broke out laughing, all except Ivan that is. She grew red in embarrassment as she couldn't stop her horrible singing. Raising her wand she sung out the words, "I've had it! Take this! _Lapifors_!"

Arthur could instantly tell his reaction was late, the only thing he could do was place his hands in front of his face. It all happened in a flash; the faint white glow surrounding Arthur made a visible yellow light appear as it slammed right into him. The classroom was enveloped in blinding white light as both Helga and Arthur were thrown back by the force. Arthur hit the book case and fell to the floor; Helga hit the wall and landed on the desks.

There were screams from the girls as the bodies thudded lifelessly to the floor. Alfred tore across the classroom and dropped next to Arthur, struggling to lift him up a bit. He turned him on his back and leaned over him, gently smacking his cheek. "Artie. Artie wake up."

The other Slytherin girls were trying to wake up Helga, everything was quiet. The Gryffindor's sat there, their jaws touching their desk in shock. Arthur's eyes snapped open and he quickly sat up, gasping for air violently. He began coughing while trying to catch his breath. Relief washed over Alfred's face and he began patting Arthur's back.

Helga groaned awake, sitting up with the help of the Slytherin members. The rest of the students began whispering amongst themselves.

"That was a rabbit charm wasn't it?"

"It shouldn't have caused an explosion like that."

"Was it performed wrongly?"

"It seems like it, the rabbit charm shouldn't have caused such a bright light."

Ivan, however, had seen the reason why the spell caused such a ruckus. To the untrained eye one couldn't have seen the pure magical shield Arthur conjured out of thin air without the use of an incantation. Ivan had been able to see Arthur's magic in the physical plane and that meant something. It meant that Arthur's magical level was beyond that of a normal student in Hogwarts. Ivan pondered this quietly, his expression keeping its innocent happy smile. Ivan decided he would indeed have to talk to the Headmaster about this, it could prove to bring trouble if the boy didn't learn how to control his raw magical talent.

Ivan clapped his hands and walked to the front of the room. "Ok. Since Helga apparently intends to kill her own housemate, 10 points will be deducted from Slytherin. This match is also a draw, Helga, I would advise you to return to your Transfiguration class. You might've missed a step in your spell, hmm?" Ivan's smile seemed to dare the girl to retort.

She stifled her lip and glared at Arthur, clearly blaming him. Arthur was too busy at the moment to even notice. He was attempting to pry off the sobbing Gryffindor.

"I thought you DIED! You hit the bookcase really really hard and then you fell to the floor and didn't wake up! Dude that was so crazy! Don't die again Arthur!" He wailed into the Brit's poor ear.

"I didn't die! Alfred, get off of me!" Arthur shoved at him harder but the boy wouldn't budge.

"Well I have nothing more to teach you today. You can go." Ivan walked up the steps and disappeared into his office, not waiting to see if his students left or not. A large number of Gryffindor students rushed to Alfred, shoving Arthur out of the way to get to him.

"Alfie, how did you know those spells?" A girl asked.

"Yeah man, they were wicked!" a boy piped in.

Arthur furrowed his brows as Alfred continued to be the popular little wizard. Arthur crossed his arms over his chest, annoyed that Alfred was ignoring him in favor of his fans.

"Oh those. I just read about them in a book." He grinned and scratched the back of his head.

_He did? May I remind him who bothered to get those books in the first place? That…. Tosser! _Arthur growled and turned around, snatching his books and storming out of the classroom without the American.

"Cool! So you taught yourself how to use those spells? That's awesome!" A few of the girls had scooted closer to Alfred.

"Actually Arthur taught me, he's really good at magic. Ah," Alfred looked around, not finding the familiar busy eyebrows, messy blond hair, and stunning green eyes anywhere. "Speaking of which, were is Arthur? He was here a minute ago…"

"Artie wait up!"

Arthur glared over his shoulder at Alfred. Alfred sent him his winning grin as he threw an arm over Arthur's shoulder.

"You shouldn't glare so much, it's gonna give you wrinkles as big as your eyebrows." He laughed.

"They aren't big! Now get off of me." Arthur shrugged off his arm none too kindly, picking up the pace and moving through the hall.

"Aw come on Artie, why are you being so mad for?" He pulled up next to Arthur and put his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner. They passed by a few first year Gryffindor girls, they giggled and waved to Alfred.

"Hay Alfred, good job in flying today."

"Yeah you were great!"

Alfred grinned brighter, liking the praise. "Thanks!"

They walked away giggling amongst one another, Alfred's eyes trailing after them unintentionally. Arthur almost gagged at the sight, scoffing and rolling his eyes. He moved his feet faster, wanting to reach his dorm and lock himself in there.

It had been a week since his duel with Helga, his body was still sore from being tossed like a doll. When his father had told him to make sure he hit the books, Arthur was pretty sure he hadn't meant that. Arthur grimaced at the thought, he hadn't gotten a single letter from his parents, and he hadn't seen his lovely owl since he had sent it to Hogwarts ahead of him. _I'll have to pay him a visit, maybe bring him a mouse or two as an apology._

"Artie!" Alfred ran after him, running in front of him to block his path. "What's with you today? You're more angry than normal!"

"Nothing's wrong, now get out of my way." Arthur shoved him out of the way, intending to continue to his dorm. He was only a hall away from the Slytherin common room!

Again he was stopped as Alfred blocked his path yet again. "No, something is wrong. You haven't talked to me all week since you and Helga dueled. And whenever I do try to talk to you, you always end up getting mad for no reason and storming off!"

Arthur glared him down, his anger boiling with every second. _That's because you usually have your stupid fans tailing after you._ "I just don't have time to hang out Alfred, I have tests coming up." Arthur moved around him and continued walking. "When I finish my tests I'll listen to what you have to say."

"Arthur! You're avoiding me aren't you? What did I do? Did I do something?" Alfred watched the Brit walk away, growing frustrated.

"You didn't do anything. Don't worry about it. Just go and study in the library, I'm pretty sure you have tests coming up too." Arthur waved it off, not paying much attention in favor of getting to his rooms before he snapped.

"I did do something didn't I? Is that why you're so mad? Well tell me and I'll apologize! I'll say sorry as many times as you want me to!" He wouldn't be deterred, he followed after Arthur.

"I said you didn't do anything! Now leave me alone I really need to study!"

"Arthur!" Alfred reached out and grabbed Arthur's hand. Arthur was pulled to a stop and he growled. Turning sharply on his heel he glared at the slightly taller boy. "Seriously what's your problem? I don't see why you're so angry."

Truth be told even Arthur didn't know why he was angry. He couldn't place a reason at the moment. But right now reason was gone from his mind as he slapped Alfred's hand away. "Piss off! I told you to leave me alone didn't I? Why do you insist upon bothering me all the damn time? I'm busy! What about that don't you get? If you're so bored then go hang around those Gryffindor girls you seem to fancy so much! Because I for one don't care much for your company! Truth be told, it has been nothing of a bother to me! I would please me endlessly if you would just leave me alone!"

Arthur was left panting, having said that in one entire breath. Alfred's expression fell and he looked wounded. His lip quivered and Arthur thought he would begin to cry, however he wasn't prepared for the sudden angry expression Alfred took. From the entire time he had spent with him he had not seen Alfred look angry, not once. It was an expression that did not suit the usual happy face.

"Well fine then! Maybe I will just leave you alone! You were getting pretty annoying too! Always yelling at me and nagging at me! I'm surprised you didn't nag my ear off! It'll actually be a joy to not hang around you all the time! That way I won't need to see your big ugly eyebrows and your sick disgusting Slytherin green! I was ready to puke if I had to stay with you for an hour longer!"

Arthur was taken aback by the harsh tone, he bit his bottom lip and he attempted to glare. It failed though; he was to hurt to fake even a small scowl. "Fine." That was all Arthur could say, his throat had involuntarily locked itself up. He turned around quickly and ran, not looking over his shoulder at Alfred.

He entered the Slytherin common room without running into anyone. Gilbert, Antonio, and Francis, surprisingly, were in there chattering away. Apparently Francis, Antonio, and Gilbert had all become friends over a little fire cracker incident in the lunch room. They looked up, all surprised to see Arthur who was looking close to tears.

"Yo eyebrows! What the hell happened?" Gilbert sat up from his spot on the couch; he had been lying down with his feet spread out over Francis's body.

Arthur walked past them and towards the stairs leading to the first year dorms. "Nothing. Everything is simply smashing." He whispered, barely audible.

"Ay, Eyebrows! Wait a sec!" Gilbert moved to stand up but Antonio held up a hand.

"Mi amigo, let him handle it ok? He just needs some alone time." Antonio smiled.

"Oui, I agree with Antonio. Let the little master be alone for awhile." Francis flipped his hair and let out a soft chuckle.

"Fine… but if I get my ass kicked by the Kirkland trio of psycho's because I didn't tell em their little brother was crying, then I'm kicking your guy's asses." Gilbert sat back down, spreading his legs out again and resting them on Francis's lap.

Arthur remained on his bed for the entire night, sobbing into his pillow. He had skipped dinner and had locked his door to make sure no one would bother him. Outside his window a group of Grindylows gathered, all chittering worriedly amongst themselves. Arthur sniffed when one of them made a cry that was Arthur's name in their language. He looked up and whipped his nose with his sleeve.

"Oh… sorry. I must be a sight huh?" He moved over to the trunk by the window, climbing on it.

They all chirped simultaneously and Arthur's brows furrowed.

"No don't worry. I-I'm fine… I just got a little hurt. My friend… er… ex-friend Alfred… The one I would tell you about? He said some pretty cruel things to me. He made fun of my eyebrows and my house colours. But I said some pretty mean things too… I was just angry. He was getting all this attention and he was ignoring that I was even there! I thought we were friends! Friends don't ignore one another right?"

Arthur sniffed and laughed at one who hissed and chirped angrily, blowing bubbles in its frustrations.

"No, you don't need to go so far as to drown him, please. But thank you none the less." Arthur sighed and pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on them. "I've never had a real human friend before. Alfred was the first one to befriend me. That twat with his joyful personality, always pestering me, and not to mention his bottomless pit he calls a stomach. He practically bragged to me about how he could eat three turkey legs and still want more! Who can handle that much food?'

"He's also to nosey for his own good, his posture is terrible, he can't pay attention when I'm helping him study, he's got horrible manners, he'd rather fly then learn, he's so annoying when he wants to play, he doesn't seem to understand the term 'rest', he also eats to much food in one sitting, he's pudgy around his mid-center, he doesn't listen when I tell him he needs to eat healthy, he constantly insists that he's not fat when you can obviously tell he is thick around this area, and did I mention how he has horrible manners?"

The Grindylows groaned in their watery home, some seeming to drop lower in the water. Four of them chirped something and Arthur looked surprised.

"Really? 7 times already? I didn't think I was rambling on for that long…" Arthur had the decency to look slightly embarrassed. "Sorry about that… But I guess after venting about his flaws I feel a little better. I'm still a little angry at how rude he was to me, but I was also rude to him too. I guess me being the gentleman, I have to be the one to apologize first?"

The Grindylows nodded after chattering amongst one another.

"'That would be best', huh? Well alright then. I'll tell you guys if he forgives me or not." Arthur smiled sadly, "Maybe he won't. I did call him annoying and that I was sick of his company…" Arthur shook his head and stood on his knees, clenching a fist in front of him. "No! I won't back down! If I do then I'll only regret it in the future! Yes! Tomorrow I will go apologize to Alfred and ask for his forgiveness!"

The Grindylows did flips in extra enthusiasm. Arthur smiled at his odd friends and waved at them. "I'd best turn in for the night then. I need my strength for tomorrow!" The Grindylows chirped goodnight and swam off, one after the other. Arthur leapt into his bed and snuggled under the covers, closing his tired eyes. He let out a small sigh, mumbling to himself about how he'd say sorry to Alfred.

Arthur had seen Alfred walk out of his last class before the blond could spot him. Arthur puffed out his chest and squared his chin. He took a deep gulp of air and took a step closer to the unsuspecting blond. After about four steps the breath left Arthur and he quickly scurried around the corner so Alfred wouldn't notice him. Arthur groaned as he watched Alfred walk further away.

He slumped against the wall, his head in his hands. He tugged at his hair in frustration. This had been the fourth time he had avoided Alfred all day. Every attempt he had made to go and apologize had ended in Arthur chickening out at the last minute. This had been going on for the past 3 days. Arthur bit his bottom lip, very much aware that he was a big coward. Arthur stood up and moved to the stairs, going up and up till he was on the seventh floor.

_I need a place to collect my thoughts…_He thought gloomily. The doors to the Room of Requirement opened as he thought of a place to hang out. Arthur was pretty sure Alfred had stopped coming to the room. Arthur had done the same, not wanting to run into the boy for apparent reasons.

Arthur rubbed his temples, fully intending to at least take a small nap to clear his head. He looked up and almost choked on his air. Alfred was sitting on the floor of the room, doodling on a piece of paper. He looked up when he heard the doors open and his blue eyes widened at the sight of Arthur. Arthur took a step back and felt for the door handle behind him.

"O-oh my. Wrong room…" He said lamely.

"Arthur!" Alfred yelled. He jumped up and ran straight for the Brit, tackling him to the floor with sheer strength.

"Oof!" The back of Arthur's head hit the door and he groaned in pain. The form clinging to his waist, however didn't seem to notice the painful bump he caused.

"Arthur! I didn't see you at all this week! I thought you were avoiding me and I got really sad because I knew I said really mean things to you! I'm really, really, really, really, really sorry Arthur! Please forgive me! I didn't mean to make you mad! Please don't hate me." Alfred lifted his head up and so he could look into Arthur's eyes. He saw the puffiness around his eyes and Alfred's throat became constricted. He grabbed Arthur's face and pulled it closer, pouting and his lip quivering. "I-I even made you cry? Oh god I'm seriously sorry Arthur! I didn't mean any of it. I don't hate your Slytherin colours or your eyebrows! I really like the green, it suits you! I'm so sorry! I'm sorry Arthur!" Alfred hiccupped, pulling Arthur into a bone crushing hug.

Arthur sat there, stunned. He hadn't expected this turn of events, really, he was actually thinking Alfred wouldn't forgive him. He also didn't expect him to be the first one to apologize either. Arthur blinked when he realized Alfred was waiting for an answer. Arthur gently pried Alfred off of him and took his face between his hands.

"Alfred…" He looked into those blue pools. His brows furrowed, he could easily tell Alfred hadn't slept properly the past few nights. "You dolt…"

Alfred's brows creased in confusion and he opened his mouth to respond. Arthur beat him to it by enveloping him in a tight hug. "Stupid. I was supposed to apologize first. Now you've gone and ruined my plan." He chuckled out. "I'll forgive you if you forgive me for being a complete arse."

"Really? Then I forgive you! I forgive you one-hundred times over!" He returned the hug and laughed out.

Arthur and Alfred both dwelled in the relief that their friendship hadn't broken up over a silly little fight. After a few minutes of simply remaining quiet and enjoying each other's company in the comfort of the pillows, Alfred yawned.

"Hay Artie?"

"Hm?"

"Will you be going home for winter vacation?" Alfred muttered, turning over to lie on his side and look up at Arthur.

"Yes actually… What about you?" He also turned on his side and stared into Alfred's eyes.

"I'm staying here; my parents went back to America to visit my gramma. Though we'll be going back to American for summer and then come back here for the next school year." Alfred grinned. "You should come with us to America! I can show you my old elementary school and my old friends!"

Arthur chuckled and smiled at him. "We'll see Alfred. We'll see…"

"Well you'd better come with me or I'll kidnap you! Hero's promise!" Alfred declared proudly.

"I don't really think a hero should promise something like that…" Arthur gave him a skeptical look.

Alfred simply laughed and jumped up from where he lain. "Well I have a butt ton of homework I need to do! Artie, will you meet me here tomorrow after class?" Alfred looked at Arthur and twiddled his thumbs.

Arthur hesitated before nodding, also standing up. "Yes, I will try to."

"Good!" Alfred's grin got bigger and he held out his hand. "Come on. Let's go see if food's ready yet!"

Arthur was thinking of commenting about Alfred always wanting food but decided against it. He simply sighed and took his hand, letting Alfred lead him out of their hide out and into the open.

"Oi, eyebrows, you've got a letter from the head master." Gilbert commented as Arthur walked in. Arthur looked at him and Gilbert waved a dark green envelope with beautiful and loopy cursive written in golden ink.

Arthur walked up to him and hesitated before grabbing it. "What for?" He flipped it to the back, the headmasters seal binding the letter. He turned it back to the front and read the words.

"_To Arthur Kirkland, House of Slytherin."_

"I don't know. Either you fucked up big time or you're getting crazy good praise." Gilbert grunted. He stood up and slung a bag over his shoulder. "Me, Antonio, and Francis are gonna go camp in the clock tower. If Ivan asks where we are, tell 'em you don't know." Gilbert went to the fifth year's room and called out. "Yo Antonio! Hurry your ass up!"

Ivan was the head of the Slytherin household, having scared the living daylights out of the young Slytherin girls when they first learned that.

Arthur sighed and shook his head. He opened the letter and carefully took it out. He unconsciously cleared his throat and began reading in a hush tone.

_"Dear Mister Kirkland,_

_ How are you feeling? It has come to my attention that in your Defense Against the Dark Art's class you were hit with a spell that should have transformed you into a rabbit. I was told by Professor Vargas that your opponent and house mate, Helga Necof, usually never performs transfiguration wrong."_

Arthur paused in his reading, attempting to recall his transfiguration professor. His full name was Romulus Vargas and he was apparently related to Feliciano Vargas and Lovino Vargas. He constantly insisted not to call him by his last name. He claimed using his last name made him feel older than he actually was. Arthur shook his head and looked back down at the letter.

_"Your Defense Against the Dark Art's teacher, Professor Braginski, claims to have seen something extraordinary. I would very much like to see for myself if what he says is true. I've waited this long because I wanted you to be healed and well by the time I summoned you. Please come to my office after dinner is served. I'll have the Care of Magical Creatures Professor escort you. Please don't worry; you're not in any trouble if what Professor Braginski said is true._

_Till then,_

_Vladimir Romania_

Arthur blinked and furrowed his brows together in confusion.

"Seen something extraordinary? What, was it me hitting the bookcase or Helga falling flat on her arse at her lame excuse of a perfect transfusion?" Arthur rolled his eyes and chuckled. He headed out of the Slytherin common room and looked back down at the letter.

Dinner had already ended, was he supposed to have waited for the Professor who was to escort him? He looked up when someone cleared their throat. A tall man with steel blond hair and a stunning resemblance to Ludwig was standing in front of him. He was paler than Ludwig by far, his hair pooled over his shoulder in golden waves and over his back. He had on a loose fitting dark green tunic with a few tears along the edges here and there. He had on brown pants with dark brown boots pulled up to the knees.

The man held out his hand to the young boy. "Hullo, I am Germania Beilschmidt, the Professor for the Care of Magical Creatures. You're Arthur Kirkland correct?" His voice was calm and soothing, his German accent playing with his words in a nice way.

"Um yes, that'd be me…" He shook the man's hand, "Um you said your last name is Beilschmidt, would you perhaps be related to Gilbert and Ludwig Beilschmidt?" Arthur hoped he wasn't prying.

"Ja, I am. Now come with me." He let go of Arthur's hand and turned around, walking down the hall and towards the stairs.

Arthur quickly folded the letter up and shoved it in his pocket. He ran after Germania and trailed behind him in only a few steps. He glanced at the German then at the floor. He was as quiet as Ludwig, if not more so. He was completely different than Gilbert was, that's for sure.

"So… you're the Professor for the Care of Magical Creature's class?" Arthur cleared his throat, hoping to relieve the tense atmosphere.

"Ja. The class is an elective for third years. Interested in taking it?" He looked down at Arthur but continued his brisk pace.

"U-um yes actually, I've always had a, uh, fondness for magical creatures…" Arthur wondered if it was alright to say he had the "Sight". He wouldn't be made fun of in a school of magic right? "I have something called… the sight…" Arthur trailed off.

"Ah." Germania said simply. The silence was back and Arthur wondered if he should've even said anything. "So… the magical beings… you can speak to them and understand what they say?"

Arthur's head snapped up and he nodded, giving a small smile. "Um, yes actually. I befriended a group of Grindylows. They often swim around the window in my dorm room. They come visit me before I go to bed and I usually tell them what happened that day or what's on my mind."

"Grindylows? They're rather dangerous, let alone almost impossible to befriend. You have a wonderful gift there, you should think about being in my class. We'll be starting a new course in the near future where those in the class will be required to buy and raise a young creature of your choosing. It will be a long term assignment, and in the end you'll be allowed to keep the creature you raise." Germania's tone indicated he was fond of what he taught.

"That sounds exceedingly wonderful; I would very much like to experience that myself." Arthur smiled up at the Professor.

Germania opened his mouth to say more, but he never got the chance to. He was interrupted as someone called out his name.

"Germania! Il mio amore, mia cara, il mio sole splendente!" Germania grew paler, if it was possible, and his expression turned grim.

The Transfiguration Professor, Romulus, came down the hall and draped an arm over the German's shoulders. "Ja… hello Romulus…" He muttered reluctantly.

"Il mio barbaro biondo, you said you would drink with me in my quarters did you not?" He purred in Italian. Germania remained unimpressed as he shoved Romulus's face away.

"Sorry Romulus, I am escorting Arthur to the Headmaster. Go drink by yourself." Germania huffed in obvious annoyance.

Romulus finally registered Arthur's existence and he leaned over and grinned. "Oh? Hello there, mister Kirkland. Are your studies going well? We have another test coming up right before winter break, you gonna be ready for it?"

Arthur nodded his head vigorously. "Oh yes! I've been studying properly for it! I'm prepared for the test Professor Romulus." He smiled at the fun-loving teacher.

"That's good that's good. Well I hate to be rude but I do have to get going." Romulus stood up straight and smiled down at the boy.

"Yes, do leave." Germania mumbled under his breath. His impassive expression broke out in surprise as Romulus hooked an arm under his. Romulus began to drag Germania away, scarily proving he was stronger than the German beauty.

"Sorry Arthur, but I'll be taking your escort. The Headmaster's office is down the hall and to the left. Stop in front of the statue and say "Acasă la un vampir". Then just go up the stairs and you'll reach his office. Good luck!" Romulus saluted him and winked, grinning and dragging Germania away.

"Du dumme römer Zauberer! Ich fordere zu lassen Sie los! Ich werde Sie du zu den Spinnen in den dunklen Wald zu füttern!" Germania hissed out, attempting to pull away from the other Professor. Romulus's grip didn't falter and he continued to draw away Germania. Arthur watched their disappearing forms; the only sound left after them was the German's long stream of cussing.

Arthur followed Romulus's guide, not really caring about the two professor's relationship. He stopped in front of the gargoyle and cleared his throat. He said the password and it began to rumble; it shifted and revealed a staircase. Arthur hesitated, wondering if this was a good idea. He bit the inside of his cheek and walked up the stairs with purpose. He climbed to the top and stopped in front of a door. He knocked on it timidly and waited.

"Come in." The voice said from the other side, muffled by the thick door. Arthur pushed it open, muttering a small excuse me. He blinked and closed the door behind him. Inside the room were Professor Braginski and Tino Väinämöinen, the charms Professor.

Tino was a kind and fragile looking man who loved teaching the students. The charms he taught had the softer feel to them, matching his personality well. Arthur was one of his top students, always completing the charms and assignments given. Arthur smiled at them and looked up at the Headmaster; he was feeding a bat a piece of an apple.

Without glancing up, Vladimir spoke, "Good afternoon mister Kirkland. Please take a seat." Arthur did as he was told, glancing from his Dark Art's professor to his Charm's professor. Both watched and waited for the Headmaster silently.

When Vladimir came over, he sat down in the desk opposite of Arthur. He intertwined his fingers and rested his chin on them. He smiled, his rather large canines poking out from under his lips. "Welcome mister Kirkland. No need to be afraid, you've simply been called here on a whim professor Braginski had. Ivan, would you mind explaining why Arthur is here?"

Arthur looked up at Ivan who blinked and kept his smile. "Yes, during the partner duel his class participated in, one of his house mates, Helga, performed a spell meant to turn him into a rabbit. But that was not the case this time. I discussed with Helga's transfiguration teacher, Romulus had informed me she has never once messed up on her transfigurations. I also noticed Arthur produce a shield spell without the use of a wand. I believe it nullified Helga's spell and that is why he's not munching on carrots right now."

Romania blinked and Arthur drew his eyebrows together in confusion. _A shield spell? Without a wand? Me? I just thought she messed up and caused that painful experience._

"How interesting… ah… where is Romulus by the way? He was a part of this meeting was he not?" Vladimir looked over at the door as if he would walk in any minute.

"Romulus said he was going to the bathroom. I don't think he got lost." Tino also glanced at the door.

"Um… Professor Romulus had stopped me and Professor Beilschmidt on our way here. He took Professor Beilschmidt with him to go drink in his room." Arthur spoke up; scared he would be scolded for not stopping Romulus.

Vladimir looked at Arthur and cracked a grin, laughing. Tino's cheeks turned a pale pink and he stared at the book cases as if they were a piece of art. Ivan shook his head and muttered something in Russian. Arthur watched them, beyond confused. He was unsure as to what had Vladimir laughing and what had Tino blushing like a mother who was asked by her child what the birds and the bees were.

"That guy couldn't wait till the meeting was over could he? I knew it seemed a little odd he needed to use the toilet after I said Germania would be bringing Arthur here." Vladimir chuckled. He looked back at Arthur who looked utterly lost. "Well no matter, Arthur, I'd like to perform a little test. If you don't mind that is."

Arthur blinked and shook his head, "No, not at all Sir. What would you like me to do?" Arthur bit his lip, was he supposed to have studied? No, that was preposterous; he would've been informed ahead of time if it was a test he needed to study for.

"Hand Professor Braginski your wand, then hold out your hands." Vladimir gave him a trusting smile and Arthur took out his wand, handing it to the teacher on his left. He then cupped his hands and held them out. "Tino, if you'd please. The stone I gave you."

Arthur watched as Tino place a smooth black oval-shaped stone in his hand. It was cool to the touch but warmed up with the feel of Arthur's skin. He looked at Vladimir questioningly. Everyone had turned their gazes to the rock in Arthur's hand. He also looked down at it and blinked in surprise.

The pure white light was flowing into the stone from where Arthur's hands were. The stone was soon a pure crystal white in a matter of seconds.

"Well, I think that proves-" Vladimir began before a loud _crack_ filled the room. They all looked back down at the stone; a long wide crack was down the center. Another crack shifted across the stone, one after the other, crack after crack. Soon it was covered in cracks and by this time Vladimir was standing and leaning over his desk. Ivan and Tino were both looking down at the stone with wide eyes. Arthur was suddenly afraid to hold it as it continued to crack.

Suddenly it shattered in a small flash of light, the stone fragments flying everywhere. Arthur let out a small yelp as he felt a small burning sensation in his hands. He hadn't realized he had closed his eyes until he opened them slowly. Vladimir looked the most shocked out of the three adults. He blinked and frowned, donning on a thoughtful look.

"When you said he might be powerful Ivan, I didn't expect him to be that powerful. I did not foresee this…." He looked up at Arthur, sitting back down. He crossed his hands and rested them against his lips. "Arthur, that stone was a magical device used to tell how much magic a person contains. It has four colour's it can shift to. Blue, the lowest, green, yellow, and then white, the highest. It turned pure white which meant you had a higher than normal magic level for a Hogwarts student, high for your age and year. Higher than most sixth years, which would've been an interesting thing indeed…However, the way it shattered like that means it couldn't contain your magical abilities. That means your magic is far greater than we anticipated."

Arthur looked at the remaining fragments in his hand. "So what you're saying is… I have strong magic?"

"Very strong magic, but how strong, I'm not sure. You have not performed magic before you arrived to Hogwarts correct?" Vladimir pulled out his wand and flicked it, a vanilla folder moved from a section in a bookcase to the right. It flew over and landed on Vladimir's desk. He opened it and Arthur bit his bottom lip.

"I've read about spells, but no, I haven't attempted magic outside of Hogwarts." Arthur rolled the fragments around in his hand.

"Ivan, you also mentioned he used new spells correct? One's not taught by you, Tino, or Romulus?" Vladimir looked up at the Russian.

" Da, I said that. But I also said Alfred Jones used some spells we had not taught to him."

"Ah, that's because we learned them together!" Arthur cut in absentmindedly.

"Oh? Where did you learn them?" Vladimir looked back at him.

"Um… well Alfred and I… sorta found the Room of Requirement… we usually go there after our classes end. One day I had brought books from the library there. I wanted to try new spells somewhere where no one would see or get hurt. I practiced a Patronus Charm… I managed to make a completed one..." Arthur glanced back up at the Headmaster who looked surprised.

"Really? Well would you mind showing us your Patronus Charm Arthur?" Vladimir nodded to Ivan, who handed Arthur back his wand.

Arthur hesitated before clearing his throat and raising his wand. He pointed it towards an empty space in the room and closed his eyes, focusing on his happy memories. When he grasped them he opened his mouth and uttered the words.

His Patronus unicorn materialized and tossed its head back, shaking its mane. It moved over to Arthur and Ivan moved out of the way, his smile gone and his lips partially opened. Arthur smiled at his Patronus and held out his hand. It nuzzled his hand and bowed its head, disappearing.

"Wow…" Tino breathed, awed.

Vladimir remained silent, contemplating this. He closed his eyes, coming to a decision.

"Well Arthur, you've definitely proven you have higher magical talents than anyone I've seen at such a young age. You appear to be able to handle your magic with your wand; I'm guessing it acts as a limit. But you'll also need to learn how to control your magic without a wand. You end up splurging your magic when you don't use your wand, which can make you tire quickly. After your classes for the day end, you are to report here understood? I'll be in charge of teaching you how to control your magic without a wand."

Arthur hesitated, thinking it over in his head. He found no faults with the solution, he slowly nodded his head. "I understand Sir."

"Good." Vladimir closed the folder and waved a hand towards the door. "You're free to go Arthur. Do sleep well."

Arthur stood up and mumbled, "And you as Well. If you'll excuse me then…" Arthur nodded a goodbye to Tino and Ivan. They gave him a smile; Ivan's a little less creepy than normal.

Arthur left quietly and returned to the Slytherin dorms. He looked around once he entered the common's room, it was quiet. Arthur walked down the stairs and into the rather empty room. He yawned and rubbed his eye, strangely tired all of a sudden. Arthur glanced out the window and noticed his Grindylow friends playing a far ways off. He walked to the window and sat on the trunk. He tapped the glass to get their attention; they looked over at him and seemed to perk up. They swam to his window and flipped in front of it, chittering excitedly.

Arthur waved a bit and yawned again, murmuring hello. "Sorry I'm late guys, I had to meet with the Headmaster."

One of them appeared to look worried, in its strange way. It crackled out some words and Arthur smiled.

"No… I'm not in trouble or anything. Actually, it was very interesting." Arthur began to tell what happened that evening, resting his cheek on his hand. He began to doze off, his words turning slurred. He mumbled out incoherent words before sleep over took him and he fell asleep next to the window. The Grindylows all looked among each other before they decided it was better to swim off back to their kelp nest, their wizard friend wouldn't be waking anytime soon.

Arthur woke up with a start, sniffing and whipping his mouth. _Gross…_ Arthur had drooled all over the desk in his sleep. He stretched and yawned, rubbing his eyes. Arthur groaned and got up, grabbing a change of clothes. He popped his back, wincing.

"Mmm. Not the best place to sleep…" Arthur yawned again, quickly undressing. Even for a boy his age Arthur was very thin, his skin was rather pale and he only had a few light freckles dusting here and there. He muttered a quick cleaning spell, not having any time to go to the baths before breakfast.

Arthur changed into fresh clothes and pulled on his Slytherin cloak. He grabbed the books he needed for today's class and walked out of the room. Arthur walked into the Slytherin common room, the Slytherin first years were hanging out with some older years. They stopped talking when they saw Arthur. After a few seconds of looking back and forth at each other, they turned back to one another and began whispering. Some laughed here and there; others giggled and glanced at Arthur.

Arthur kept his gaze leveled as he walked past them, going out of the room and into the halls of Hogwarts. Arthur was used to this, ever since he had started hanging around Alfred he had been shunned by his Slytherin house mates. They would laugh and talk about him, even if he was in the room. He told himself not to let it bother him, but it in fact, did bother him.

He made it to the great hall where kids were sitting and getting ready for breakfast. Arthur sat down in the far corner of the table, he knew not one of his Slytherin house members would want to sit next to him. The only two who still communicated with Arthur was Antonio and Gilbert. However, sometimes those two weren't the most reliable of friends, if Arthur could really call them that.

Arthur pulled out one of the books he brought along with his class books. He ran a hand over the leathery skin texture, smiling at the title, "_Dragon's of the East_". Arthur had brought the book from home, it was one of the newer one's he had. His mother had bought it for his 11th birthday; she said a wizard had written it. Arthur had waited to read it; he wanted to read a magical book in a school of magic. He thought it would have more meaning. Opening the book he turned to the first page and started reading.

Arthur hadn't realized time had passed and more students were filling in. Arthur heard Alfred's rambunctious laughter, glancing up from his book he saw the boy enter. He was talking and laughing with a group of his housemates, all interested in what he was saying or doing. Arthur looked over at his side; there was a huge gap between him and his house mates. No one was even sitting in front of him, they seemed to try and avoid sitting anywhere near him.

Arthur's grip on his book tightened. Why was Alfred friends with all of his house members, why didn't they shun him? Why was it just Arthur? Why when it was Alfred who had befriended him? Why wasn't he also being ignored? Why?

Arthur's eyes narrowed when a Gryffindor girl latched onto Alfred's arm. She had chestnut brown hair with many curls, olive skin, and bright hazel eyes. She giggled at something Alfred said; Alfred seemed to enjoy the attention. He sat next to her and his friends sat around them. The food appeared in front of them when Vladimir sat in the Headmaster's seat. He too had begun to eat some food here and there.

The breakfast's spread was oatmeal, eggs, omelets, hash browns, bacon, a plate of muffins, and some bowels of ripe juicy-looking fruit. The girl clutching onto Alfred's arm rested her head on him and giggled something. Alfred didn't seem to care what she was doing, too occupied with the food. She, on the other hand, wasn't paying attention to it at all. She was too busy cuddling and touching Alfred's arm. Next to Arthur, a girl who had arrived late was picking some fruit. She looked appalled to sit next to him, but she tried to enjoy her food.

She opened her mouth to take a bite of the fruit in her hand, when her teeth made contact it made a squelching sound. She shrieked with her mouth filled as the disgusting taste flooded over her taste buds. She Spit it out harshly and coughed, looking down at the peach. It had turned rotten to the core when just a minute ago it was perfectly healthy.

Suddenly, people were standing up and girls were freaking out.

"Oh gross! My apple is rotten!"

"Mine has a worm in it!"

"Dude my milk is fucking jell-o now! It stinks!"

The shouts were all the same, one thing or another was rotting. Around Arthur to food was decaying rapidly, no one could pinpoint where it was coming from and why.

"Someone hexed the food!"

"Who did it? Was it Slytherin?" A Gryffindor next to Alfred stood and shouted.

"No way! Our food is rotting too!" Gilbert stood up and yelled across the hall at them.

"It wasn't us! Our food is rotted!" A Hufflepuff yelled.

"Our eggs are rotted!" A Ravenclaw girl shrieked.

Everyone was standing up and shoving their plates away, appalled at the sudden turn of the food. Students began screaming for who hexed the food, Vladimir looked down at his own food. He watched the peach in his hand go brown and black in a flood of dark magic.

His head snapped up and his eyes focused on one person, Arthur. Arthur was unaware of anything happening around him, he was too busy glaring down the girl and Alfred. He looked to Germania and said, "Get Arthur and remove him from the Great Hall." The teachers and staff of Hogwarts all had been informed of Arthur's special ability late last night, telling them not to treat him differently but to keep an eye on him.

Germania nodded and stood from his seat, quickly moving and grabbing Arthur by the shoulder. Germania almost flinched at the dark energy radiating off of the boy. He gave Arthur a good shake.

"Arthur."

Arthur snapped out of his trance-like state, looking up at Germania with wide eyes. "G-Germania… I-I…." Arthur searched for words as Germania helped him out of his seat and outside. He let his head fall, his bangs covering his eyes. Arthur had felt it, the overwhelming power, the anger and rage flowing inside him and needing an outlet. He had been so fixated on Alfred and that girl he hadn't noticed what he was doing.

No one noticed them leave; Vladimir was standing and attempting to calm everyone down. He watched them leave through the corner of his eye. Vladimir managed to settle down the students, telling them that he would find the culprit and they didn't need to worry.

Arthur trailed after Germania who was leading him to the docks. Germania didn't say anything and neither did Arthur. Arthur sat down at the end of the dock and Germania stood a few feet back, leaning against a post. Arthur pulled his legs to his chest and his lip quivered, he was scared.

Scared of the power he had felt. Scared of the anger, scared of the jealousy, scared of what he had done. But more than anything, Arthur was scared of himself. Arthur felt sick, he had used dark magic. He hadn't even read anything on dark magic, how could he do that? Arthur leaned over the docks, feeling the bile rise in his throat. He vomited into the water, his books clenched tightly into one of his hands.

Germania walked over to him and began to rub his back. Arthur continued to vomit stomach acid and whatever he had for dinner. He whimpered when he was done, the water shifted and on the right side of the docks, three Grindylows surfaced. They recognized Arthur, instantly chirping in worry. One dived back under the water to get the other Grindylows Arthur had befriended.

Germania glanced at them, a little weary of the usual violent creatures. Arthur coughed and whipped his mouth with the back of his hand, spitting. A Grindylow chirped and dived under the water, coming back up with a rather large empty shell. It held it up to Germania and chattered again. Germania glanced down and hesitated before taking it. Germania pulled out his wand and used a water spell, putting it into the clam shell and lowering it for Arthur.

"Here, wash your mouth out." He mumbled.

Arthur gladly took it, swishing the water in his mouth before spitting. He coughed out. "How could I do that? I don't even know dark magic!"

"I am not sure…" Germania looked up as footsteps approached.

"How is he?" Romulus questioned.

"Shaken up, why are you here Romulus?" Germania watched him suspiciously.

"Vlad sent me, said to see if Arthur was fine." He squatted down next to Arthur and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry Arthur, you didn't do anything serious."

"Nothing serious? Nothing serious?" Arthur yelled out. He stood up abruptly and tugged at his hair. "I used Dark magic! Wizards aren't supposed to use such magic! I-I'll turn into a Death Eater! I'll become evil! I-I'll end up killing people! I-I won't be able to return home! My family will hate me! They'll want me-"

"Arthur!" Arthur's eyes snapped up as Germania kneeled down in front of him and placed his hands on Arthur's shoulders. "Listen to me. What you did in there was only an aging spell. Yes it was Dark magic, but there are dark spells that a wizard uses for specific reasons. That isn't even considered dark magic, it just ages food rapidly. You did not use anything that bad. You won't be thrown out of your house. Your magic simply reacted to your emotions. You're fine Arthur, you didn't hurt anyone. You can't and you won't be evil. You are Arthur Kirkland, gifted with the "_Sight_", and friends with magical beings."

Germania gave an awkward and crooked smile. "It's alright Arthur; you won't become a Death Eater. Listen, a long long time ago, those gifted with magical abilities were thought to be evil. Witch hunts took place to kill off those who were different. Muggles wove stories of witches eating children. Wizards we said to turn women into ugly demons, witches turned men into dogs. But did any of that really happen? Did we really do what those people said?"

Arthur shook his head slowly. "No. Witches and Wizards were kind throughout the years. Some used their magic to help people, others avoided people. But there were those who did use magic to harm people…"

"Ignore that fact. Pay attention to the positive. They attempted to help right? They meant no harm yet they were still treated badly. However Witches and Wizards still helped them no matter what. Muggles and magic folk have lived together all these years and still stayed good." Germania gave a comforting squeeze.

"But I still don't see what this has to do with me using Dark Magic…" Arthur sniffed, rubbing his nose.

"What Germania is trying to say is that you won't become evil. You'll only be evil if you willingly use your magic to hurt people. All magic can be called Dark magic; it just depends on how you use it. Germania uses aging spells when his dearest pet is hungry. The thing only eats rotted food." Romulus smirked and also kneeled down next to Arthur. Arthur looked at Romulus then back to Germania.

"Really?" He asked with wide eyes.

Germania sent Romulus a warning look but nodded. "Ja, I do. But it's fine because I use it to help. I don't use it to hurt."

"So if I don't use my magic to hurt… then I won't become a dark wizard?" Arthur's eyes brightened and gained some of their life back.

"Ci puoi scommettere! Arthur, a wizard is as good as his magic. If you use your magic for your own selfish desires like say, money, wealth, power, and even love; then you'll become a bad wizard. If you use it for good, then you'll stay a good wizard. What you did in there aged all the food, but you helped Germania out. Now he doesn't have to go and buy fruit to rot, he can use the food you rotted. You've set him up with food for months!" Romulus exclaimed, patting Arthur's back.

"Really? I did?" Arthur brightened up and smiled slightly.

"Ja. You did. Thank you." Germania mumbled.

"Now go and see the Headmaster. He excused you from your lessons but he would still like to help you control your magic." Romulus smiled.

"I understand. I'll be going now…" He hesitated after standing up. Arthur quickly hugged Romulus and Germania tightly. "Thank you." He let go and waved. "Well, bye then." Turning around after picking up his books, Arthur turned and left up the docks. Romulus waved after him, when he was on dry land and walking back up the path Romulus put his arm down.

"So… Romulus. What exactly is this pet that I have that consumes rotted food? I would very much like to know myself." Germania glared at Romulus who grinned cheekily.

"Oh come on miele, it made him happy did it not?" He took one of Germania's pale hands into his tanned ones. "Ora, come su di te mi fai felice?" He whispered into Germania's ear.

Germania grimaced and placed his freehand on Romulus's face. "No thank you. I'll pass." He shoved forcefully on Romulus's face, making the wizard topple backwards. He flailed his arms as he balanced on the edge of the dock. He let out a yelp as he fell backwards and into the water with a splash.

He swam to the surface, sputtering. He bobbed on the surface and looked around. He looked up; Germania was halfway across the docks, walking back to the school. "Hay! Wait a second! Germania!"

He called out after him, climbing out of the water. He shivered and chased after him. "Aspettami!" The German professor ignored him and continued walking, easily managing to hide his small chuckle.

Arther walked tiredly to the Room of Requirement, his joints aching badly. He had trained with Vladimir, doing simple exercises before going into full training. Vladimir was relentless when it came to magic, he made sure Arthur was dead tired by the time their lessons ended. It had been around three hours since all the classes should've ended, Arthur, it seemed, was the only one who had longer lessons.

He didn't feel like complaining though, he was actually excited to be learning directly from the Headmaster. Arthur felt that this would help his magical abilities grow, he wanted that. He wanted to be able to control his magic, not have his magic be the one controlling him. Arthur yawned as he went into the room, half expecting Alfred to be there and half not.

"Artie! Where've you been? You said we'd meet here after lessons! Dude you should've seen Professor Romulus, he came into the class room dripping wet!" Alfred was sitting at the table, snacks laid out on it.

"Alfred… where on earth did you get those?" Arthur looked at him, confused. First years weren't allowed to go out into town.

"Want some? Jessica's sister gave them to her but she didn't want them so she gave them to me." Alfred put some gummy worms into his mouth and smiled happily.

"Jessica?" Arthur furrowed his brows.

"Yeah! She's one of my house mates. She's a first year like me and she's super nice. Her friends are really nice to. There's Lilly and then there's Amy. Amy likes to study a whole bunch, like you. I'm pretty sure you guys would be best friends! I'll introduce you guys tomorrow after class!" He grinned happily.

Arthur groaned, too tired to feel anything. "No that's fine. I won't be able to come here after class anymore Alfred, I have extra lessons. I don't know how long they'll be each day…"

Alfred's smile fell slightly. "Oh…"

Arthur moved over to the pillows, dropping onto them and letting out a long sigh. "Just let me sleep for a bit…"

"Ok….." Alfred mumbled. He blinked then grinned, leaping out of his chair and bouncing over to Arthur. He flopped down next to him and hugged Arthur. "Then I'll sleep too!"

"Alfred…" Arthur grumbled at him, his eyes already closed.

"Good night Arthur!" He laughed and cuddled next to Arthur.

"Nnn….." Arthur grunted and opened one eye to glare at Alfred. Alfred smiled back at him and flashed him a grin. Arthur sighed and rested his head back on a pillow. "Good night…"

This continued on for a good week, soon winter vacation had come around. Arthur had gone home with his brothers to visit their parents. His mother was disappointed that he was Slytherin, but Arthur had told her he was quite happy being a Slytherin. He said hello to all the magical friends he had left, telling them what had been going on and how he's been. He told them how he had befriended someone by the name of Alfred.

Arthur had a few fights with his brothers, but out of fear of his emotions getting out of hand, he ended up admitting his faults. Though he had been reluctant most of the time when apologizing, Arthur still did what he thought was right. His brothers had been left befuddled when Arthur refused to bite back when they made fun of his eyebrows. They were even more confused when he simply got up and left without so much as a scowl.

Dylan had thought Arthur was sick, which Allistor had retorted that he was sick in the head. He claimed that Arthur was just moping and missing his boyfriend. They had all figured that was the reason and took to teasing Arthur with that. At first Arthur had no clue what that even meant. But when he had asked his mother what a boyfriend meant, he quickly grew flustered. He would then yell back at his brothers when they said Alfred was his boyfriend. Strangely, his magic didn't react when he was fighting with his brothers. Arthur thought it might be because he was used to fights with them.

When Arthur had returned he instantly noticed something had changed. Alfred and the girl with the curly hair, later found out to be Jessica, had spent the entire winter vacation together. When Arthur wasn't able to meet up, Alfred would hang out with Jessica. They were practically inseparable; the only time he wasn't with her was when he went to the Room of Requirement with Arthur. However, Arthur had started to dislike those times. Alfred would talk about Jessica most of the time, how she and Alfred had done this, how they had done that, how they had accidently set one of their potions on fire and other random stories.

Arthur quickly got fed up with hearing the story of how Jessica dared Alfred to eat 10 muffins. He had heard the same stories so many times he practically had them memorized word for word. Arthur hated how Jessica always came into the conversation one way or another. One minute they would be talking about magical creatures and Alfred would suddenly talk about how Jessica told him she found a beaver with a unicorn horn one summer. Arthur scoffed at that and had claimed she was lying, that had made Alfred get defensive and tell the Brit that he didn't know what he was talking about.

Arthur also noticed Alfred had stopped asking him for help on homework or studying.

_"Oh, its cuz Jessica's helping me with it. Now you don't have so much to deal with. Really smart of me, huh?" Alfred had told him whilst grinning._

_"Simply peachy." Arthur had hissed at him._

By the third week Arthur was fed up with anything having to do with Jessica. He began to spend more time with Romulus, Germania, and Vladimir. He had learned that Romulus was a registered Animagus, his form was a wolf. He had shown Arthur his wolf form; it was a large strongly built wolf that was brown with tan markings. Arthur had found it quite fascinating and begged Romulus to teach him how to shift forms. Romulus had told him maybe when he was older and had more control over his magic.

He had started helping Germania with caring for creatures. He wasn't allowed to handle them, but when Germania was there he was allowed inside the pens and allowed to feed them. He enjoyed it very much and did any task Germania requested of him, happy to be of help. Arthur definitely wanted to be in Germania's class. Arthur kept waiting excitedly, telling Germania how he wanted to be a third-year real soon. Germania would always tell him to be patient or else it would go even slower. However, Germania always gave Arthur special privileges, trusting him to handle some of the creatures on his own. That had pleased Arthur immensely.

His training with Vladimir was going smoothly; he trained hard and long every day and still tried to make time to see Alfred. His training on some days was longer than other days, and sometimes they weren't very long at all. He was picking up quickly, his grasp on his magic wasn't there fully, but it almost was. Arthur had shifted his schedule in an attempt to match Vladimir's since the Headmaster's schedule was constantly changing. He still managed to keep up and Vladimir had even started to treat Arthur like a friend rather than a student. He was still strict sometimes and went back to acting like a teacher every now and again, but Arthur was able to speak comfortably to him.

Arthur was seeing less and less of Alfred, on some days they were to hang out something would go wrong. Either Arthur couldn't make it or Alfred had ended up promising Jessica and her friends they'd hang out. On some days when Arthur got out from Vladimir's lessons early he would go to the Room of Requirement in hopes to see Alfred. He was usually met with disappointment seeing as how Alfred would end up hanging out with other Gryffindor members. Arthur would be hurt, feeling lonely and having no one to talk to. He would then go visit Romulus or Germania, but sometimes the both of them were nowhere to be seen. Arthur had gotten used to the both of them disappearing so he simply thought nothing of it. He was too young to actually understand what was actually going on between the two professors. He would then end up going to the docks to talk to the Grindylows or to the library and read.

Arthur's life in the Slytherin dorms had not gotten any better, everyone still shunned him like the plague, and some didn't even remember why they did it. They all just simultaneously agreed to seclude Arthur from Slytherin life. Antonio and Gilbert would hang out with him occasionally, but then they would usually have Francis with them. Arthur didn't understand what his problem with the French man was; all he knew was that he hated him. They would fight constantly, bickering at each other and sometimes pulling on one another's hair.

Gilbert and Antonio found it greatly amusing; they would let the two bicker and fight. Sometimes they would bet on who would win, a good amount of the time it was Arthur. Arthur didn't use magic to win his fights; no he actually won by threatening to shave Francis bald or by getting his clothes dirty. The Ravenclaw really loved his blue, but that usually never stopped Arthur from shoving dirt down his shirt anyways.

One day however, Arthur had gotten out early from Vladimir's training. He had told Arthur that he could take a break for now and that he had earned it. Arthur quickly went to the Room of Requirement, hopeful that Alfred was there. When the doors opened he was surprised to find, not only Alfred, but a group of other people as well. They were all sitting in the center and talking, some had pillows they were laying on while others didn't. They had all stopped laughing and talking when the doors opened. They all looked at Arthur, their moods obviously turning sour.

Arthur stuttered, unsure of how to react. How had these people found the room? For all he knew, kids had forgotten that this room even existed. Him and Alfred had been the only ones to use it so why were there other people in Alfred and his secret hide out? Arthur narrowed his eyes as Alfred stood up and grinned innocently at him.

"Artie! You got out early! That's awesome! Come over here! I'll introduce you to everyone." He said cheerily.

When Arthur made no sign he would move from where he stood Alfred went over to him and began tugging him by the arm over to the circle.

"Come on Artie! Don't be so stuffy." He forced Arthur to sit down and took a seat next to him, Jessica on his left, Arthur on his right. "Guys this is Arthur, he's really good at magic and he's in Slytherin!"

Arthur could feel the judgmental stares and the whispering and giggling of how big his eyebrows were. He looked down at the floor and bit his inner cheek. Alfred seemed oblivious to what was going on, but Arthur could practically smell the disdain in the air.

"That's Jackson, then there's Amy, I told you about her, then this is Tom and this is Jessica." Arthur hadn't even noticed when Alfred has started pointing people out, but he did glance up at Jessica's name. She gave Arthur a smug look and scoffed, rolling her eyes giggling and whispering something to Amy who was right next to her. Amy also giggled and whispered to another girl, Arthur guessed it was Lilly.

"So Arthur? Having fun being a snake?" One of the boys sneered at Arthur. The way he said it made Arthur's blood boil, he said it as an insult.

"Yes, actually. I like being a Slytherin member. At first I wanted to be Gryffindor, but not so much anymore." Arthur calmly replied, telling himself silently to not let these fools get to him.

"Well I don't really think being a Slytherin is all that great. Isn't it just full of rich pure-bloods?" A girl commented.

"Don't they just buy their way in?" One of them laughed.

Arthur scrapped his nails over the spine of his potions book. He ground his teeth together and looked at them coldly.

"Not all Slytherin members are pure-blood or rich. That's just simple assumptions based off of spineless rumors. Not a fact as people claim." He forced out every word through clenched teeth.

"Well you can't really trust the words of a snake." Amy scoffed.

"Hay guys, come on now. We're all friends here." Alfred chuckled, his smile still present. The boy was obviously dense to the atmosphere.

"That's an exaggeration…" Jessica giggled to Amy. Alfred seemed to not hear it or he chose not to, however Arthur heard it clearly.

Jessica leaned over Alfred and held out a hand. "Hi I'm Jessica, nice to meet you Arthur. Let's be very good friends." She said sarcastically. Arthur narrowed his eyes and sniffed, looking away and refusing to shake her hand.

"Yes. Let's…" He hissed. Alfred bumped his shoulder.

"Arthur…." He said, warning in his tone.

Arthur sent him a hot scowl, his teeth almost breaking under the pressure he was putting them under. He gripped Jessica's hand unkindly and gave it a firm shake, forcing a harsh smile.

"Excuse me, I was being rude. I shouldn't talk to a lady like that. You'll have to forgive me; I'm rather tired after my extra lessons." He quickly let go of her hand, not missing how she whipped in on the floor in obvious disgust.

"Why do you need so many lessons? Are you failing them?" The one named tom snickered.

Arthur glared at him and hissed out. "No. As a matter of fact I'm way ahead of everyone in my year."

They looked skeptical and Alfred clapped his hands, finally paying attention. "Oh yeah! Arthur can do a Patronus Charm really well!"

"No way! That's for older wizards! He can't do it!" A boy said.

"No he can! Arthur, show them." Alfred smiled expectantly at the Brit. Arthur turned his bitter gaze on Alfred, growing more annoyed by the second.

"No thank you. I'm awfully tired and I don't think I want to." Arthur said, hoping Alfred would get he wasn't comfortable showing off his magic in front of strangers.

"What? Is the Slytherin bluffing?" Tom smirked.

"Maybe he was lying?"

"You really shouldn't have someone as nice as Al lie for you." Lilly flicked her hair over her shoulder.

"No guys, I wasn't lying! Trust me I've seen it! His Patronus is a unicorn!" Alfred said, laughter in his tone, he seemed to thing they were all playing around. He moved to stand on his knees.

Everyone went quiet and looked at Arthur. "His Patronus… is a unicorn…?" _Uh oh…._ Arthur knew what was coming. He experienced this when he said his favorite animal was a unicorn. In elementary, kids were cruel, as they got older they were even crueler. Arthur braced himself for the harsh words he knew were coming.

Suddenly everyone in the circle, excluding Alfred and Arthur, had burst out laughing. A few of the boys had fallen over clutching their stomachs and rolling along the floor. Arthur's face lit up and even his ears turned a dark red. He bit his lip and looked down, wishing he could disappear from the world.

"Dude it's a freaking unicorn? That's so stupid!" One laughed out.

"How girly!" Tom laughed, gasping for breath.

They continued to laugh and cry out how weird and girly it was. Arthur felt the anger and frustration rise, Alfred was trying to calm everyone down.

"Come on guys, it's not that bad!" He appeared slightly flustered, unsure why they were laughing so hard.

"Seriously Al, you have to admit it is pretty girly for a guy to have his personality match a unicorn." Amy giggled behind her hand.

Alfred glanced down and he shrugged, giving an uncomfortable smile. "Well…. It is kinda girly…" He mumbled out after awhile.

Arthur stared at him in utter horror, did he actually agree with their insult? Arthur felt an intense pain in his chest and his face burn brighter with shame. He had heard enough. Arthur stood up abruptly and growled out.

"Well since it's obviously apparent that I'm not welcomed here I'll take my leave." He attempted to move away from the circle of Gryffindor students but was stopped as Alfred latched onto his arm.

"Wait! Arthur, where are you going?" Alfred looked confused.

"I'm going to the docks Alfred. At least there I'm welcomed!" He yanked his hand away. "Don't expect me to come back here. I won't. That way you and your, oh-so-kind "friends", can come here anytime you want!" Arthur stomped past the group.

"Wait! No one said you had to go! Arthur, why are you getting so mad? They were only teasing! It's just a joke!" Alfred got up and stopped him again.

"Just a joke? Alfred," He pointed at the circle of people who were watching with amusement. "Those people purposefully chose words that were to offend and hurt me. Not only that, but these wankers actually have the balls to do it to my face and to mock my Patronus Charm!"

Alfred frowned, "Well these "_wankers_", just so happen to be my friends Arthur. They didn't mean any of it."

Arthur couldn't believe what he was hearing; did Alfred really think they didn't mean any of it? "You're not kidding are you…?" Alfred's face said enough. Arthur swallowed, his throat growing dry. He could feel a lump in his throat, the pain in his heart growing. "I see. Then I'll just leave you and your "_friends_", alone." Arthur hissed out.

"Why are you acting like this Arthur? There's nothing to be angry about! I don't see why you're getting so worked up over nothing!" Alfred was beginning to grow frustrated.

"You didn't defend me! When they made fun of me you didn't defend me! Instead you sat there and laughed with them! Alfred you fucking laughed at me! Someone you said was your friend! Yet you defend them! They meant every word they said Alfred! So either you have your ideas on friendship mixed up or I'm not even high enough on your friends list to be defended." Arthur growled.

Alfred looked taken aback, "Artie… how could you think that? You know I didn't mean it…"

"Well it sounded like you fucking did when you called me girly!" Arthur wasn't even registering that he was cussing, words just kept spewing out. "Just what is it that everyone loves about you? I can't seem to understand it right now. You defend people you've only been friends with for what, a month? Maybe two? I don't know! But then you don't defend, no you practically laugh, at the friend you've had since the school year started!" Arthur was practically yelling at this point, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I'm fucking ignored by all of my house mates. Some won't even look at me! It's all because I was your friend Alfred! Yours! But I stuck with you didn't I? Even though I was being shunned and avoided by the entire population of Slytherin? Yet here you are! Hanging out with god knows how many people! All smiles and sunshine, fucking laughing and joking and poking fun at the Slytherin who thinks he's friends with you." Arthur cried out, stomping his foot into the ground.

"So you're saying it's my fault people are ignoring you?" Alfred raised his voice. "So what do you want me to say? Sorry? Sorry for what exactly? I don't see how it's my fault they ignore you! Did you think that maybe it was because you bite off people's heads over stupid things? Or how you brag about how good you are at your classes or that you have the "_Sight_". Or how you rub it in that you have powerful magic?"

"I do not rub it in! Who's the daft buffoon who keeps saying, "Oh Arthur try this spell, no now try this spell, no this one!" No I don't think it was me! And I never bragged about being good in class or having the "_Sight_". If anyone's bragging it's you, you brag about how good you are on the broom when you know I can't even get my feet off the ground before I topple over! So tell me Alfred, why aren't you like me? I'm being ignored but you have friends." Arthur wriggled a finger at the people who were watching with wide eyes.

"Those fucking bastards you call friends piss me off! Every single one of them! They're rude to me and say whatever they damn well please even when we just fucking met! In this place no less! Alfred this was _our_ hideout! We agreed that this would be _our_ secret base! Not a fucking playground for snot nosed brats!"

"They kept wondering where I went to and I wanted to show up! This was so we all could hang out together! But it looks like Arthur doesn't want that! Are you to good for my other friends are something?" Alfred yelled at him.

"What? No! I never said that Alfred!"

"What? Is the Slytherin to high and mighty to sit and befriend other Gryffindor members? Is that it?" Alfred continued to yell; Arthur couldn't help but remember their last fight. There had been yelling, but never this intense.

"I never said any of that! Do not put words into my mouth Jones!" Arthur stabbed a finger into Alfred's chest.

"Well maybe Alfred has a point. Here we were being friendly but you kept turning our words into insults. Twisting them to get your way. Just like a snake." Jessica stood up, acting all high and mighty as she stopped next to Alfred.

"Bullocks! Alfred, don't tell me you believe the crap this munter is saying?" He glared at Jessica who looked deeply offended, knowing what the word meant.

"Don't insult my friends Arthur!" Alfred growled out, his blue eyes growing dark.

"So I can't insult them but they can insult me, is that it?" Alfred remained silent, Arthur's chest clenched and his lip quivered slightly. "I see… Well now I know who your friends are and who's not."

Alfred's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to say something, but Jessica beat him to it. "Are you serious right now? Have you been blind all along? Oh Arthur, honey…" She frowned and smiled at him pitifully as if he was the most ignorant child in the world. "Alfred felt sorry for you. He saw you with no friends at the beginning of the year and befriended you. He could see how pathetic you looked all alone and, he being the good guy he is befriended you. But you're getting to clingy with him; he was never really your friend to begin with. You just thought he was. Your friendship was only temporary Arthur. He could never be friends with a Slytherin. "

Alfred slowly closed his mouth and swallowed. Arthur looked between him and Jessica. He looked at Alfred, his eyes begging him to deny it. When Alfred said nothing Arthur's heart fell. "You're not saying anything? So what she's saying is true? You felt sorry for me? Was that it?"

Alfred refused to meet Arthur's gaze, the Brit took that as his answer. "So you thought you'd be the hero and save me from my loneliness? Isn't that what you said at the docks all those months ago? I'm guessing that was all a lie too? No wait! I bet you were laughing behind my back weren't you? Laughing to your friends, telling them how the stupid Slytherin thought you were friends." Arthur sneered.

"I bet I was the punch line for a bunch of your jokes! Did my brothers find it funny? Did you give them a jolly good laugh? I hope so! Because here's a new joke you can tell them that'll make them simply _die_ of laughter. Our friendship. Our friendship was a joke Alfred. One big fat joke! What were you going to do at the end? Tell me how you were just messing with me and using me to eliminate your boredom of school life? Was that your plan? Well I'll save you the trouble! Our friendship is done, Alfred F. Jones."

Alfred's head snapped up and his eyes grew wide. His mouth had opened so he could respond, but suddenly all his thoughts left him. Jessica and the others were also stunned into silence, their eyes as wide as Alfred's. Alfred hesitated and lifted his hand to reach out to Arthur.

"Artie…"

Arthur had tears streaking down his cheeks, his green eyes narrowed and flashing a mixture of emotions. Anger, pain, and betrayal, he smacked Alfred's hand away with such hate and disgust. "Don't touch me! Don't ever call me that again! Don't ever talk to me! Don't even look at me! I never want to see you again Jones. Never again." He hissed out with so much venom. He glared at Alfred one last time before turning around and storming out of the room, the door slamming behind him.

Arthur ran as fast as he could to the common room, trying not to cry as he did. He entered; ignoring the other Slytherin's who looked up at the crying first year. Antonio and Gilbert stood up from their seats, their game of cards forgotten. Arthur ran past them, running down the stairs and not stopping till he reached the empty dorm room. He slammed the door closed and locked it. He pushed his trunk in front of the door after great effort, blockading it from any intruders.

Gilbert began banging on the door not a few seconds after Arthur had moved the trunk. "Arthur! Hay, open up! Arthur!" He yelled behind the door.

"Mi amigo, are you alright? Please open up; I got some churro's from Hogsmeade, would you like some? They're really tasty." Antonio said sweetly.

"Go away! Leave me alone!" Arthur screamed at them, sobbing. He grabbed his pillow and blanket, taking his unicorn stuffed animal and sitting in a corner of the room furthest from the door. He sniffed and curled in the blanket, laying on the floor. Arthur sobbed into the pillow, clutching Peony for dear life.

"Arthur, open up damn it! Why the fuck are you crying? Do I have to kick someone's fucking ass? I'll do it! Just give me a name and I'll have his ass out the window!" Gilbert shouted.

"Gilbert, you'll get kicked out of school if you do something that stupid." Antonio scolded his friend.

"Fuck that! I could care less! No one makes a fucking Slytherin member cry on my watch! Eyebrows, come on man, open up!"Gilbert pounded his fist on the door again.

"Gil, he said to leave him be. Come on, we're not helping banging on his door. Let him calm down and then see if he's ready to talk. If he's like this tomorrow then we'll do something." Antonio whispered behind the door.

"But Antonio-" Gilbert started. Antonio's look must've shut him up because Gilbert kicked the door in frustration. "God damn it! How unawesome…"

Their footsteps moved away and soon the hall was empty. Arthur sniffed and sobbed, crying his heart out. Arthur had never felt so much pain and betrayal; he couldn't even grasp how to handle the situation. Arthur sobbed into his pillow, not even noticing his Grindylow friends swim up to the glass. A few banged on it to get Arthur's attention, but they failed. They watched Arthur for awhile before one of them seemed to get an idea. It chirped to the others and they appeared to agree. They all swam away from the window, a plan known only to them on their minds. They swam off and disappeared into the murky water, leaving Arthur alone in his empty lonely room, crying about the destruction of his first friendship he cherished so dearly.

After a few minutes of crying and after his tears dried up Arthur began to think. Why was he even sad? Was what Jessica said true? Was Alfred only pretending to be his friend? Arthur began to grow angry. He sat up, a new bitterness forming in the pit of his stomach. _How dare he use me like this! How dare that bloody American make a fool out of me! He has a whole lot of nerve! Well, see if I care Jones. You betrayed my trust and laughed at me! You made me look like a complete idiot! I won't ever forgive you Alfred F. Jones. Not now, not ever._

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_A/N: This is a little longer than the other parts, i really wanted to put as much as i could into this. I wanted to get the ball rolling for the actual UsUk to be used. Sorry it took longer than my others, but i think i'll be working harder and longer on them now. Thank you Renee for helping me edit this one. As for Romania's password to the Headmaster's office, it was "Acasă la un vampir" Which, in Romanian means "Home to a vampire". Romulus is Rome, if you couldn't already tell. Tino is Finland. Thank you for reading, part 5 should be posted by next week... hopefully. c:_


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: First off let me say this: I know my German and other languages aren't the best, i don't speak that language. I try you know? But thank you nonetheless. I enjoyed reading all of your reviews, they made me laugh and squeal! I really enjoyed reading them! I love hearing from you and it makes me happy to know people actually like my writing. I know its a little rocky in some parts, its because i'm not very used to writing for the public. I will also be starting to work on a few new stories, but i won't start uploading until i'm finished with The King of Slytherin. Also, on another note, I know Arthur seems a little bit like a kid and like a weakling the first few chapters. Its because i intended for him to act and seem that way. Simply because I wanted Alfred and his fight to impact him enough to try and be stronger and more emotionally sturdy. As for my other story idea's, would anyone be interested in a NiChu fanfic or an Alpha and Omega USUK? : Thank you my wonderful editors!

Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia, who knows what i'd do if i did.

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"Has he left the room yet?" Gilbert asked as he tossed his books onto the couch. Antonio looked up from the magazine he was reading.

"Nope, where's Francis?" Antonio was spread out on a couch, one of his legs hanging over the side while his head rested on the arm.

"Ah, we agreed that we should lay low. Some asshole told Ivan that we were sneaking a Ravenclaw into the common room. We need a new place to hang." Gilbert sighed and hit Antonio's legs so he would move them. When the albino sat down, Antonio moved his legs back and placed them on Gilbert's lap.

"I agree. I knew it was a matter of time till someone spoke up. Slytherin's don't like the other houses, you should know that. In all the years we've been here, not once have we seen Slytherin's like anyone but themselves." Antonio turned the page in his magazine.

"Ja, but even they don't like Arthur, and he's a Slytherin too." Gilbert groaned and laid his head back on the chair.

"How many days has it been?" Antonio glanced up at him.

"2 days total, the idiot can't last another day. He'll need to eat." Gilbert grumbled.

"I wouldn't be so sure mi amigo; he's proven to like defying you." Antonio chuckled as Gilbert sent him a glare.

"Then I'll just drag him out of his room. His brothers have noticed his absence! I got fucking cornered today by them again! This is the third time today! They were asking me where the hell is Arthur. Those trio of psycho's keep breathing down my neck for an answer. I keep making up lame excuses saying, "He's got extra lessons" or that "He's got a stomach ache". Do you even know what they said at lunch?"

"I know, I was there." Antonio flipped a page, sighing.

"They fucking told me that they knew shit was up and if I didn't start talking they'd break my legs!" Gilbert hesitated, "O-of course I wasn't afraid. They couldn't hurt someone as awesome as me!"

"Of course they can't, you're too awesome to be hurt in a fight." Antonio rolled his eyes.

"I can hear the sarcasm. Asshole." Gilbert hissed and hit Antonio's legs roughly.

"Ow! Gilbert!" Antonio hit Gilbert's arm back, which Gilbert returned. This went on back and forth until Antonio hit Gilbert across the face with his magazine. Gilbert glared down at him and tackled him to the floor. They both rolled around, one trying to dominate the other. They slammed into tables and into people unlucky enough to pass by in an attempt to get to their rooms.

Gilbert's head hit someone's foot and he looked up. Antonio, who was perched on top of Gilbert with the albino's shirt grasped tightly into his fists, also looked up. Arthur was looking down at them, a hand on his hip and a brow raised in amusement.

"What are you two doing?" He gave a faint, amused smile.

"Politely settling out differences." Gilbert said, shoving Antonio off of him and standing up. Antonio grunted and rubbed his butt, saying something in Spanish.

"How ya feeling Eyebrows?" He poked at Arthur's large eyebrows.

Arthur swatted his hand away and scowled. "Don't call me that, and I'm fine. I need to go apologize to my teachers for my absence. It was childish of me and uncalled for."

"Dude, you're still a kid." Gilbert snorted.

"He's right; you've still got a long way to go. I'm sure they'll understand if you just say you felt sick and stayed in." Antonio smiled, coming over to ruffle Arthur's hair.

"It would be ungentlemanly of me to lie." Arthur remarked.

"Eh, what are a few lies here and there? It's only considered lying if you get caught." Gilbert winked at him and snickered. He went over to sit back on the couch, pretending he hadn't been worried the few days Arthur had shut himself away. "What the hell were you doing in there anyways?"

"Preparing." Arthur said simply.

"Preparing? For what?" Antonio threw him a curious look, sitting down in the chair opposite of Gilbert.

"I needed time to get a hold of my emotions and keep them under control. I think I've managed to." Arthur moved to the door. "I'll attend dinner though, so don't worry anymore."

He left and Gilbert rolled his eyes, "We weren't worried in the first place."

"Say's the person who was intending to drag him out of his room?" Antonio smiled devilishly at him.

"S-shut up!" Gilbert blushed and chucked a nearby pillow at Antonio's head.

"Arthur, I won't ask for you to tell me why you've neglected your classes, but I will ask you if you intend to do it again." Vladimir looked at him from over his desk.

"Once again, I apologize, but no, I do not intend to pull this stunt again. I am truly sorry." Arthur replied calmly.

"I see… Well Arthur, you understand that you have a large amount of magic correct? It may seem like you can perform spells perfectly and without error, but that is not the case. You splurge in your magic using because you have no control over it. While it doesn't take much effort to do a simple transfiguration, you end up using two times the needed amount of magic. That is the problem I've been noticing. That is why you always end up rather tired and drained at the end of our lessons."

Vladimir stood from his seat and walked over to the book case. "Arthur, you have talent. I'll admit that much; however, you do not know how to control it."

"But that's the reason we're training right? So I can control my magic." Arthur followed him with his eyes.

"Yes, but there's only so much I can teach you. The rest you need to experience for yourself." He pulled out a dusty book and walked back over to his desk. "I want to put a seal on you; it will contain your abilities until you can handle them." He held out his hand for Arthur. Arthur hesitated, biting his bottom lip. He slowly gave Vladimir his hand, watching him with cautious eyes.

"How will I know I can handle my magic?" Arthur watched him flip to a page in the book and then pull out his wand.

"The seal will disappear. I understand this isn't easy for you, but it's for the best. You will continue your lessons with me until I think you can learn on your own." He glanced at Arthur briefly.

"I-I understand…" He mumbled softly, swallowing any protests down his throat.

"Good," Vladimir put his wand to Arthur's wrist. Instantly a burning sensation scorched Arthur's skin. He winced as black markings flooded from the wand tip and coiled around Arthur's wrist. The burning feeling stopped when the markings reached all around his thin wrists. "Now the other…"

Arthur held out his hand and Vladimir did the same thing. Arthur bit his lip as the burning pain fried his senses. He struggled to stay quiet until Vladimir was done. He let out the breath he had been holding.

"You'll need to get the seal checked on and renewed every other month." Vladimir informed him as he closed the book.

"But sir, what will I do for summer vacation? Will I have to remain at Hogwarts?" Arthur secretly dreaded the thought.

"No, I wouldn't do that to you." He gave a small smile. "I'll just send one of your professors on the appointed dates. That should be fine right?"

Arthur nodded his head vigorously, "Yes! That is simply fine!"

He chuckled and ruffled Arthur's already messy hair.

"Well then, go and apologize to Germania before dinner starts. He had been wondering where you've been. His temporary assistant had gone missing and he didn't know why."

Arthur paled and he quickly ran to the door. "I need to go right away!" He paused before turning around. "Again, sorry for the trouble I caused! I'll be taking my leave now. See you tomorrow for lessons!" He then left quickly, leaving Vladimir to his own thoughts.

Dinner progressed without incident; Arthur avoided even looking at Alfred. He had chosen to sit with his back to the other tables, his thoughts elsewhere. Allistor, Dylan, and Colin all kept an eye on Arthur. They would take turns watching their youngest brother, making sure they were as discreet as possible while everyone ate.

Arthur continued his lessons and extra lessons, working hard to do well. He kept a distance from Alfred, avoiding him like the plague. He pretended he forgot every moment they spent together. He acted like Alfred didn't exist and neither did the Room of Requirement. Arthur spent all of his free time with Germania or holed up in his room. No one questioned Arthur, Antonio and Gilbert respected his space.

One afternoon, he had seen Alfred on his way to the library. Alfred was with his friends and laughing. As he caught sight of Arthur his smile fell and he watched Arthur with expectant eyes, waiting for him to say or do something. Arthur did neither and simply kept an empty expression, his eyes trained forward. He walked past Alfred, acting as if he wasn't even there. He could feel Alfred's gaze follow his back, he forced himself to remain calm and not show any emotion.

He had begun to notice Alfred making appearances more than usual. He had changed his route back to his dorm room on more than one occasion. He would always catch Alfred leaning against the wall or sitting in the hall for no reason. Alfred would always give him the same look, a look that was expecting some kind of response. After the sixth time, he was positive Alfred would even settle for Arthur yelling at him.

But Arthur didn't do that, he didn't even glance at Alfred. He simply walked past him, ignoring his existence. Arthur had to remind himself that he was the one who ended the friendship. He had to tell himself over and over that he would not forgive Alfred, no matter what.

Then one day Arthur didn't run into Alfred, or the next day, or the day after that. Arthur then realized that Alfred had given up completely. He was no longer going to wait around and expect Arthur to talk or even look at him. He had reluctantly, but surely, given up in trying.

And that is how the year went, it continued like this till summer started. Arthur had taken to hanging around Kiku, but sometimes he also avoided the Japanese man. Kiku hung around Matthew, and Matthew was brothers to Alfred. Kiku understood why Arthur would suddenly leave when Alfred was coming over. He never pried, but he did wish for his two friends to make amends.

For summer Arthur spent it with his family, only leaving the house to talk to his magical friends. His brothers had lightened up on their teasing, though they still did it on occasion. To say Arthur didn't think once of Alfred would've been a lie. He did think about the boy and that would lead to him getting angry. Germania would visit to renew the seal on the 3rd of every other month. His parents had been informed that Arthur would need annual check up's, but they were never told exactly why.

By the time summer ended Arthur had happily gone back to school. At the Platform 9¾ Arthur had gotten a seat all on his own. Kiku had taken to sitting with his Chinese friend, the one with the white cat. It had turned out that the cat had gotten lost in the school and had shown up a week before school ended. Kiku's friend, Wang Yao, was only a year older than Kiku, but acted like he was older. Kiku's emotionless character was constantly broken because of Wang Yao, who always managed to drag out kiku's inner most thoughts.

Arthur's 2nd year wasn't any different; the older years still avoided Arthur. Because of that, the first years thought there was a reason, so they avoided him too. Strange rumors had begun to spread amongst the first years that Arthur had killed the other male members in his grade. He had rolled his eyes at that and laughed at them.

Reluctantly, Arthur had started to hang around the annoying French frog. On more than one occasion Arthur had beaten him up for not keeping his wondering hands to himself. Still, he and Arthur continued to hang out even if they did bicker here and there. Arthur had made an odd friendship with Francis, though he wouldn't call it that if someone asked him. He used Francis as a stress outlet, but usually regretted it when Francis started to preach about how to much stress will ruin the rest of Arthur's life.

Arthur still saw Alfred on occasion, but Alfred had seemed to have forgotten Arthur even existed. After the 2nd week of school Arthur had overheard the boy taking to his friends about trying out for Quidditch. Arthur had pretended not to care, but he couldn't help but be ecstatic when he overheard a group of girls a few weeks later, that Alfred Jones was a Chaser for Gryffindor.

Arthur's lessons went well and he realized that even he could make mistakes. When it came to potions he would mess it up one way or the other, anyone he was paired up with had begged their teacher for someone else. Someone had even begged for the stool to be their partner. Arthur had pretended not to be offended, slowly growing accustomed to the insults. He had been made fun of by more than one Gryffindor and Slytherin member, sometimes even the other houses joined in. They all shared a common hate for the Brit known as Arthur Kirkland, the reason why had always escaped the poor boy.

One day, halfway through the second year, Arthur had run into Alfred. Arthur was exiting the library, books on dragons and nymph's in his arms. Alfred had been coming in with Matthew to study, apparently. Alfred had stopped talking when his eyes rested on Arthur. His smile turned into a frown and his eyes lost some of their light. Matthew hesitated and gave an awkward smile.

"Hello Arthur." Arthur nodded a hello to him.

"Good day, Matthew…" He hesitated and looked at Alfred, his eyes turning cold. "Jones."

Alfred didn't get the chance to even utter a word before Arthur slipped past them and walked away briskly. Alfred bit his lip and walked back into the library, his mood darkening visibly. Matthew watched Alfred with a helpless expression, looking at the Slytherin who was already so far away. He followed after his brother, feeling sorry for the both of them.

It went on like that for the entire second year, Alfred and Arthur would run into each other on occasion, but never would it be when they were alone. Alfred had always looked like he wanted to say something, but Arthur never gave him the chance. Arthur denied him it; he would not allow Alfred to say anything to him. He couldn't bear to hear it; he had spent those 2 days in his dorm building up a wall around his heart. He knew if Alfred tried to speak to him again Arthur would crack. He would end up forgiving Alfred right away, if the American asked for it. He knew this, so he made sure to never give Alfred that chance, he wouldn't let himself forgive Alfred.

Before Arthur knew it his second year had passed and his summer was just ending. As he got ready for bed he couldn't help but wonder where his summer had gone. He bitterly remembered that Antonio and Gilbert would be 7th years and would have little to no time for Arthur. That would mean he wouldn't be able to hang out with them as much anymore. Everyone made sure to avoid him, Slytherin or not. He knew there was a chance a first year would want to be his friend, but Arthur couldn't help but doubt that.

Arthur settled in and patted Peony on the head, smiling sadly at it. "Another year of ignoring Jones, huh Peony?"

Arthur watched the unicorn, waiting for a response he knew wouldn't come. He chuckled and rolled onto his back, looking up at the ceiling. The room was devoid of light; Arthur had to squint to see the dark blue colour resting high above him.

"Should I just forgive him? It has been a year…. I mean maybe we could start over? No… that would be preposterous. What would I even say? 'Alfred I wish to start over and be friends again! Ahem, I'm Arthur Kirkland, pleased to meet you'." Arthur scoffed. "Yeah right."

"He would think I was off my rocker if I told him that. He's probably forgotten all about me… hasn't he? I mean I was the one who said we weren't friends. I also avoided him, and then I would ignore him when we ran into each other. I mean… I couldn't even look him in the eye when we talked to one another. If I did I would always try and look like I didn't care and that I hated his very soul! Do you think he'll yell at me if I told him I forgive him? Would he rather have me apologize instead of him? What if he told me he hated me? I was the one to tell him I never wanted to see him again, would he bring that up?" Arthur began to ramble, managing to make himself even more worried.

"Arthur, if you don't shut your trap now, I will go over there and beat you unconscious." Allistor shouted from the room next to Arthur.

His brother's warning was enough to shut Arthur up; he rolled onto his side and hugged Peony. He took in a deep breath and mumbled to himself. "It's alright… Alfred won't hate me… he doesn't hate… he can't…"

When Arthur reached platform 9¾, he had yet again arrived before the train. He looked at his watch and groaned. It was only 10:40; the train arrived at 10:50 and boarded at 11. He grumbled and sat down, his owl on the cart containing his belongings. His owl looked at him with its wide silver blue eyes. It ruffled its silver and brown feathers, making a noise.

"Oh hush up, William. Don't give me sass. It was either I go now or wait for Allistor and the others." He sighed and looked up at the high ceiling.

After about four minutes Arthur heard laughing. He looked up as Alfred, Matthew, and Francis came in through the platform. Arthur bit his tongue in a harsh way. He began fidgeting impatiently, _where the hell is the dang train?_ He gritted his teeth as they approached, pulling out a random book and opening it to the middle of the page. He pretended like he was too engrossed into his book, acting like he hadn't noticed them enter.

"Oh, look at this! It's the troll with large eyebrows!" Francis chuckled as he caught sight of Arthur.

"Watch it, frog." Arthur snarled at him, peeking over his book.

Francis raised his hands in surrender and Matthew smiled at him.

"Hi Arthur, you're looking well." He said softly.

"I am thank you. You also look like you're doing well." He hesitated and glanced at Alfred.

He was glaring at the empty station, clearly ignoring Arthur. Arthur swallowed and mumbled out, "Alfred… You appear to be doing well."

"I am. Thanks for asking." Alfred bit back harshly. Arthur flinched and Matthew hit Alfred's arm, hissing out a warning. Alfred rubbed his arm and sniffed, turning up his nose and glaring at something.

They remained in a very awkward silence and Arthur silently prayed for someone, anyone, to come! Arthur almost shouted a thank you as a group of people filled in. Arthur's shout of delight would have turned to a wail of displeasure as a group of Slytherin students came in. Arthur abrasively bit his lip, remembering very quickly who they were. The group was the new male perfect, Josh, Edith, Addison, and Jake.

They all had picked on Arthur when Antonio or Gilbert weren't looking. Now they had the chance to fully pick on the young Brit without worry of being reprimanded. They caught sight of Arthur and it was Edith who spoke up, her thick blond locks hanging around her shoulders and framing her, in Arthur's opinion, rat-like face.

"Oh look! It's the British caterpillar." She snickered to her friends. Out of all off them, her and Josh were the ring leaders.

"Piss off you bloody tossers…" Arthur growled.

They had taken to making fun of his eyebrows, calling them caterpillars because of their bulkiness. Alfred glanced at the Slytherin's walking towards them, his blue eyes widened slightly. Francis and Matthew side-stepped and watched as the group stopped in front of Arthur, their belongings on their separate carts.

"What was that?" Josh snarled at Arthur, glaring down at him. He had become the house perfect while Gilbert had become the Head Boy, surprisingly.

Arthur knew from experience not to bite back, but sometimes he couldn't help it. When he was against his brothers it was either bite back or be bitten, literally. On many occasions he and his brothers had broken out into a fit of biting each other, Arthur sometimes bit too hard and caused unnecessary bleeding.

"I said, piss off." He spat out each word, truly loathing this group of Slytherin's.

"That's no way to talk to your house perfect, Arthur." Josh smirked.

"Or your house mates!" Jake piped in.

"Yet you don't treat me as a house mate? As far as you're concerned I'm not even Slytherin!"

"That's right. You're not. You're more of a worm than a snake. I don't know what the sorting hat was thinking, putting such a disgusting mud-blood in our house." Edith's shrill giggling made Arthur's ears hurt.

"I'm not a mud-blood!" Arthur stood up, growing angry at their obvious provocation.

"Don't try and deny it. You mom was a disgusting muggle." Addison hissed.

Arthur narrowed his eyes and moved over, standing on the tips of his toes to seem taller than he actually was. "My mother was no muggle." He growled out. Arthur missed the worry that flashed through Alfred's blue eyes along with the mop of red, reddish-blond, and the light reddish-brown, hair.

"Oi, what the hell is going on here?" Arthur's head snapped to the voice belonging to his elder brother Allistor. Allistor had one brow raised, his luggage piled onto a cart with Dylan and Colin's things. Their owls all sat atop Dylan's large suit case, each appearing proudly like their owners.

"Allistor…" Arthur mumbled, lowing himself back to the soles of his feet. He took a step back and turned up his nose. "Nothing! I was handling it all just fine."

"Handling it? That's what he calls it." Allistor snorted, Dylan and Colin visibly smirking.

Arthur's cheeks grew hot and he scowled at Allistor as he walked up and glared at Josh, only a few feet away. He was slightly taller than Josh by an inch or two, easily glaring down into his eyes. Josh's dull brown eyes didn't compare to Allistor's sharp forest green eyes.

"You having a problem with my brother?" He spoke with his thick Scottish, coking his head to the side as Colin and Dylan joined him on either side.

"No. We weren't. We were simply chatting up our house mate, right Arthur?" Jake forced out a laugh, glaring at Arthur then glancing back at the Kirkland trio of psycho's.

"I heard you talkin' 'bout me mum." Allistor's eyes turned cold and he sent them a glare that could freeze hell itself. "If I hear you talk shit 'bout her again I'll cut all your tongues off. Got it? If so then fuck off, Slytherin shit." He spit at the ground in front of Josh's feet, looking back up at him and daring him with his eyes.

Josh hesitated before sending Arthur a glare that said, 'This isn't over'. He turned around and began shoving his cart away. "Come on guys, train should be coming soon."

They followed, reluctantly. Edith glanced over at the boy and sent him a sick smile, "See you at school, Artie."

Arthur shivered and almost jumped out of his skin when Allistor draped an arm over Arthur's head, weighing it down.

"Don't you have some lovely friends." He said sarcastically.

"They're not my friends." Arthur snapped, smacking his hand away.

"You're treated by your house mates like that? Honestly Arthur what'd you do?" Colin sighed and shook his head as if all the troubles in the world were standing right in front of him.

"I didn't do anything!" Arthur glared at them. They looked back at him indifferently. He shook his head in annoyance and went behind his cart, shoving it away from them. He looked over his shoulder and yelled out. "I was handling everything just fine! I don't need you to interfere! I'll handle them on my own; it's none of your business so stay out of it!" With that he huffed and moved his cart to the farthest seat from the trio of psycho's and the trio of bystanders.

"That little shit grew some balls." Allistor's face grew sour.

"Ay, Allistor." Dylan hit his brother's side and nodded his head to the three behind them.

Francis wasn't really caring what was going on, he was too busy looking into a small mirror and fixing his hair. Matthew was watching them with wide eyes, glancing at Arthur's retreating form before looking at them. Alfred was giving them a wiry smile, knowing the three brothers.

"H-hay Allistor, Dylan, Colin…. How are ya guys?" He cracked an unsure grin.

"Alfred… just the fucker I wanted to see." Allistor's expression turned even more sinister than before as he cracked his knuckles. "I heard you made Arthur cry, though, what pissed me off the most was Gilbert waited until he knew he wouldn't be seeing us to tell me that. Stupid shit called me up in the middle of summer to tell me that. And he said it wasn't the first time either. So how many times did you make my little brother cry?"

Alfred grew pale as a sheet and Matthew's eyes widened in scale and he shot Alfred a look. He had known that his twin had stopped being friends with Arthur, but he had only been told that it was because Arthur wasn't being nice to his friends. He didn't think it was that extreme but apparently it had been if it broke up their friendship. It had even made Arthur cry? And that wasn't the first time he'd cried? How many times had Alfred made Arthur cry? What was Alfred not telling Matthew? How could he leave out such important information!?

"Allistor," Colin held out his hand in front of his brother, blocking him from advancing on Alfred. "This is no time to be picking a fight. Besides, he's younger than you. It'd be like beating up a new born. Just leave 'im be, whatever he did was in the past. Arthur seems over it. If anything, I'd say it was a good realty check for 'im, he's not as wimpy anymore."

Allistor glared down at the third oldest Kirkland, his hands slowly lowering back to his sides. Dylan smirked at Alfred. "You should thank him; he just saved your ass the beating of a life time."

They glanced up as the train pulled in with a screech; people began to fill into the platform, all ready to board.

Allistor turned around and walked away, his hands in his pockets. Dylan followed, leaving Colin to push their cart. He sighed and looked back at Alfred with his silver-green eyes, silently observing him. Alfred shifted uncomfortably, casting his gaze down to his feet.

"Colin! Hurry your ass up!" Allistor shouted, making Colin walk away after nodding a small farewell.

Alfred let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, some colour returning to his face.

"Well that was rather interesting." Francis chuckled.

"Alfred…." Matthew sent his twin a huffy look, his cheeks puffed out in his quiet anger.

Alfred grimaced and began pushing his cart, speaking louder to be heard over the noise. "Come on! Let's grab a seat before they're taken up!"

"Alfred!" Matthew walked after him, shoving his cart along.

"Oh, I think my friends actually have a space open, I-I'll be sitting there instead. Sorry."

"No it's quite alright, I understand." Arthur smiled as the first year closed the sliding door hastily. He looked down at the book in his lap and smiled sadly at it.

This was the third person who had come in asking to sit down. When Arthur had introduced himself they ended up making an excuse as to why they couldn't sit with him. Arthur gave a dry laugh; it seemed that even the first years were avoiding him even though they had never met Arthur Kirkland. _How pitiful._ He thought harshly.

He looked up at the empty seat in front of him, then the empty seat next to him. It seemed like his frail hope of making a first year friend wasn't going so well. It seemed like he barely had any friends, only Kiku, Matthew, occasionally the frog, Germania, Romulus, Vladimir, and that was it. Gilbert and Antonio were in the mix of odd friends, but they rarely could hang out. They usually didn't even hang out in the common room unless it was by chance.

He glanced up as the door slid open, his eyes widened and his mouth almost dropped at the sight.

"Hay you mind if I stay here? I'm kinda hiding from my bro-" Alfred finally looked into the cart and his sentence died out. He blinked at the Slytherin sitting awkwardly in the corner, a surprised expression taking over his face. "Oh… hay…" He mumbled.

"Hi." Arthur replied bluntly, glancing out the window and playing with the front of his book.

"So can I stay here? I'm avoiding Matt right now, he's being so annoying." Alfred scratched the back of his neck.

Arthur gestured to the seats in front of him, not taking his eyes off the window. "Help yourself; no one else is sitting there."

"Dude you have the whole thing to yourself? Wicked." He grinned and closed the door behind him, flopping down on the soft cushions.

"I guess." Arthur glanced at him from the corner of his eye. He blinked and looked back out the window but quickly snapped his head back to look at Alfred who was watching him with a childish grin. "What?" Arthur asked suspiciously.

"Nothing… just thinking that your eyebrows got bigger since I last got a good look at em." Alfred's grin seemed to get bigger as Arthur sputtered and blushed.

"I-I beg your pardon?" He stuttered, unsure of what to say to that. He hadn't expected Alfred to say anything to him, let alone look at him. He hadn't prepared for Alfred's smile, or his bright eyes, or that personality that went along with them.

"You still got that wrinkle, right here." He put his finger to his own forehead and pointed to the skin in-between his eyebrows. "You shouldn't scowl so much."

"Well sorry, that's just how I am." Arthur hissed hotly, opening his book and glaring down at the innocent page.

It remained silent for a long while before Alfred spoke up again when the train had started to move. "What're ya reading?"

"_The Tale of the Unicorn Spirit_." Arthur muttered, having read the same paragraph 5 times already.

"What's it about?"

"A unicorn."

"And?" Alfred inquired, rocking back and forth in his seat.

Arthur sighed deeply, feeling a small headache coming on. "It's about a unicorn named Silvia; she lives all alone in a forgotten forest where she's the only unicorn there. She decides to try and find other unicorns like her, but she learns that her race is extinct and that they were slaughtered by humans. She's then targeted by poachers who want to sell her, the last unicorn alive. She befriends a basilisk named Fidi, who was blinded in his attempts to escape captivity as a young snake. Fidi helps hide her and protects her from the poachers. He ends up dying while trying to protect Silvia and she is greatly saddened. In her state of despair over the loss of her only friend, she goes on a rampage. Using her magical abilities she causes a great flood to happen, drowning a large number of people." Arthur glanced up, half expecting Alfred to feign interest.

Alfred however, had wide eyes that were drinking up everything Arthur said. "Then what happens?" Alfred whispered as if talking to loudly would break the magic.

"Um…. I don't want to spoil it too much… If you'd like you could borrow the book to read…" Arthur scratched his cheek and awkwardly held out the book. Alfred scrunched up his nose and shook his head.

"No way, you read it to me! You have a way of making stories interesting." Alfred smiled sweetly at Arthur.

Something in the Brit's heart fluttered and he couldn't help the small burst of happiness that filled him. He was about to respond until he heard a girl's voice outside yelling Alfred's name. Alfred got up and poked his head out, looking up and down the halls before spotting someone.

"Oh it's Jessica! I'll be right back, alright Arthur?" He glanced over at Arthur and smiled brightly.

His smile faltered a bit when he was met with a fierce scowl and a deep frown. "Don't bother!" Arthur hissed at him. He set his book down and stood up, walking over to Alfred and shoving him out. Alfred stumbled and turned to look at Arthur with a confused face. "Go back to your own seat!" He slammed the door in Alfred's face, holding it closed in case he tried to open it up again.

He slowly let go when he heard the hesitant footsteps move away from the cart. He waited by the door until he heard Alfred's cheerful voice call out for Jessica. Arthur's scowl returned with a vengeance, his mood ruined completely. He didn't know what upset him more, the fact Alfred was still friends with Jessica, or that he had managed to talk to Arthur without the both of them fighting, or that he blew off Arthur just to say whatever to Jessica.

He bit his inner cheek and sat down, no longer feeling like reading his book. He let out a long sigh, wondering if he should just sleep. He began to speculate if he should lay spread out on the seats. He jumped when the door slid open a bit. A feminine looking male with Dark brown hair and chocolate coloured eyes popped his head in. He had his cheeks puffed out slightly, tinted a light pink and looked like he had been recently angry.

He blinked, "Nǐ hǎo, I am Wang Yao. May I sit in here?"

"Ah, yes…. I'm Arthur Kirkland." Arthur watched the man slip in after glancing over his shoulder. He had on the Ravenclaw robes but a Hufflepuff scarf was wrapped around his neck. The robes appeared longer than him. The sleeves went past his hands and hid them from view. He had a small panda stuffed animal in his arms, which he squeezed tightly when he sat across from Arthur.

"Ah I know your name, you're Kiku's friend. He says a lot about you." Yao leaned back in the chair, swinging his legs a bit.

"O-oh…?" Arthur raised a brow before he finally registered the name. "Oh! You're Wang Yao. You're the one who lost his cat the entire year. How is she doing by the way?" Arthur drew his brows together, honestly concerned.

"Tā hěn hǎo, she's fine. I was happy to find her though. She gave me quite a scare when she didn't turn up for dinner, aru." He smiled.

"That's good that you found her." Arthur smiled a bit. He blinked and cleared his throat. "Ahem, I hope you don't mind me asking… but… aren't you wearing a Hufflepuff scarf?"

Yao looked down at the scarf around his neck, suddenly surprised that he was wearing it. "Aya! I thought I left this back there when I left."

"Uh…. Left where… exactly?" Arthur grew even more confused.

"Oh… I left the room I was in because I was angry, aru. Kiku was being very mean and it made me feel bad so I came in here! I'm not talking to Kiku at all until he apologizes!" Yao leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest in an act to confirm it.

"I see. But what if he doesn't?" Arthur couldn't picture the soft spoken Japanese man actually being mean to someone.

"Then I won't talk to him at all, aru." Yao puffed out his cheeks and held up his panda. "You agree right, Tián tà?" He asked the panda.

Arthur blinked and shook his head, deciding not to comment. They stayed quiet for a long while. Arthur watching the scenery pass by, Yao played with his panda. Arthur couldn't help as his mind drifted back to his first year. He thought about how much fun he had, had with Alfred. He then thought about his second year grimly.

When Alfred had games he would go, he would make sure to use the colour changing spell so he could blend in when Slytherin wasn't playing. He would wear his cloak over his head and simply hide away in a corner of the stands. No one paid him much attention; they were too busy enjoying the game. Arthur had not missed one of Alfred's games, he made sure to be there. Though he was always the first to leave, he didn't want to be noticed by anyone.

Alfred played well; they lost some games and won some. Alfred played with his heart in the game, giving it his all. Arthur had always been captivated the way he zoomed on the broom, twisting and turning in the air with a slight grace to him. Alfred would always cheer for who ever won, be it his team or not. Even when the Gryffindor team lost Alfred always had a smile on his face, telling them how they'd win the next game. It was no wonder everyone liked Alfred, he captivated the hearts of everyone with his cheesy charm and lovable smile.

Arthur's thoughts drifted to how they were only a few minutes ago. It had started out awkward but then it mellowed out. They both talked like there had been no fight. They acted like true friends, in a slightly awkward way. Alfred acted like normal to Arthur; even he was surprised at how relaxed Alfred had made him. _That silly lad with that stupid smile of his, he always manages to get under my skin one way or another. _Arthur thought to himself.

"Are you happy about something, aru?"

The sound of Yao's voice snapped Arthur back to reality. His head shot up and he blinked. "What?" He asked lamely.

"You're smiling." Yao pointed to his own face, a knowing look in his eyes. "I figured you were thinking about something that made you happy."

Arthur's hands reached up to his face, resting on his cheeks before moving to feel his lips. "I was smiling?"

"Was I correct?" Yao hid his smile with his sleeve, the corner of his eyes wrinkled in amusement.

"U-uh yes, I was thinking about…." Arthur glanced out the window, racking his brain for an excuse. "My class elective! Yes, that's it. I am very excited for the class I'm taking." He glanced at Yao, hoping he bought it.

"Oh? And what class is that, aru?" He tilted his head, still hiding the bottom half of his face with his sleeve.

"Care of Magical Creatures, I'm friends with the teacher. Professor Beilschmidt." Arthur clarified, sitting up straighter out of habit.

"How interesting, Kiku and I are also in that class." Yao let out a small chuckle.

"Really?" Arthur blinked and smiled slightly, "Well then I hope we can have a study group together sometime?"

"That would be nice." Yao nodded his head and picked his feet up after slipping his shoes off. He spread out on the seat he was on, hugging his panda. He rested his head on his arm and sighed. "Aya, I am very tired. I haven't slept for two days. I had to take a plane from China to come here. I was there for summer visiting my Grandma; she's the one who takes care of me. My parents aren't alive anymore." Yao began to ramble and Arthur let him, finding the China man interesting.

"They died in a car crash when I was 6; I've lived with my mother's mom since. She's a really nice old lady; she willingly helps me pay for the tickets to and from China." Yao sighed, closing his eyes.

"Oh… I see… I'm sorry about that. Um, Couldn't you sleep on the plane?" Arthur bit his lip, he too was also tempted to lie down and sleep.

"Shì de, yes, I could have. But I get motion sickness and I just couldn't get comfortable." Yao sighed and rubbed his eye with his sleeve. "Wake me up when we get there ok?"

Arthur didn't get the chance to respond, Yao had already drifted off into slumber. His breathing slowed and his body relaxed. Arthur took this chance to study the odd man. His hair was long, he had it tied up and thrown over his shoulder. Though some strands hung over his back, the rest pooled over his shoulder. He had long eyelashes for a man and a soft round face. He had full lips which were a light peach colour, going well with his creamy white skin. Yao's lips were parted slightly as he breathed through his lips, squeezing his panda closer.

Arthur watched the sleeping male for a bit longer before he felt his eyelids droop. He jolted as his head fell forward. He cleared his throat and looked around. Outside the sun was still high in the sky, bathing the room in its warm rays. Arthur let out a long sigh, enjoying the warmth. It felt good against his skin, making him even drowsier.

He took off his shoes and followed Yao's example, spreading out on his seat and laying on his arms. He closed his eyes, instantly feeling the tug of sleep. He didn't get much of it last night; his mind was too busy racing with the possibilities of running into Alfred and what he would do. However those thoughts were now gone, he had shoved Alfred out in a fit of anger and had slammed the door on his face. Arthur was split between feeling smug that he had pushed Alfred away before he could break down his wall, or depressed because he pushed away the chance of mending their friendship.

Arthur grunted in annoyance and creased his brows. _I will not let that bugger occupy my thoughts while I try to get some sleep!_ He told himself. He sighed once more and relaxed into the seat, he started to drift off again. After a few minutes Arthur's breathing began to slow and his shoulders relaxed. His eyebrows followed and his expression lost its tension. He made a soft snore as he breathed in, exhaling slowly.

Arthur had woken up around 10 minutes before they were to arrive. He whipped his mouth, having drooled slightly. He groaned as he stretched, popping a few bones. He scratched his head and glanced over at Yao. He was sleeping on his stomach, his mouth open in a snore with slight drool running down the side of his mouth and into the seat. He had one hand hanging off the side of the couch, holding his bears arm. The other was somewhere underneath him.

Arthur was taken aback, this beautiful person slept like a total slob. _That's surprising_; Arthur couldn't stop the small amused smile that pulled at his lips. He sat up and leaned over, reaching to shake Yao's shoulder. Yao's eyebrows pulled together and he let go of his panda to swat at Arthur's hand. He whined something in Chinese and rolled onto his side, his back to Arthur.

"Yao, we're almost there." He shook him again, this time Yao opened an eye.

"Aya…. It was a good dream too." He mumbled. He yawned and sat up, scratching his head. Some of his hair had sneaked their way out of his pony tail and were hanging around his neck and face.

"We're almost there." Arthur repeated, sitting up straight again.

"I heard you, don't worry." He yawned again and looked out the window, it was pitch-black.

He slipped on his shoes and stood up, he went to the door, pulling it open and looking out. He looked down both halls before closing the door dejectedly. He had a disappointed expression as he sat back down. Arthur tilted his head, puzzled as to why Yao was suddenly sad.

"He didn't look for me at all." Yao whispered. He looked down at the scarf around his neck and pursed his lips. He stood up and yanked the scarf off, tugging open the door again. "I'll be right back."

He went out, slamming the door behind him and leaving Arthur even more confused.

"Wonder what that was all about…" Arthur mumbled before remembering that Yao had stayed in here because he was mad at Kiku. Was he sad that the Japanese man hadn't gone to find him? It appeared that way to the Brit.

Yao came back in, a neutral expression covering his face. The scarf was no longer around his neck and he picked up his panda and sat proudly in front of Arthur.

"So… what did you do with the scarf?" Arthur gave an awkward smile.

"I went back to cart he was in and threw it at him. I then come back here, I won't stay there!" Yao talked as if he was the one who had been wronged. Arthur frowned, not really wanting to know what had made the Asian so angry.

He half-heartedly listened to Yao rant, looking out the window into the black nothingness. He could see the silhouettes of trees pass by, but nothing eye catching that he could make out. Arthur sighed, leaning his head against the window. He gave Yao a "hmm" whenever he asked the Brit if he agreed with him. Yao changed to ranting in Chinese, leaving Arthur unsure of what he was even talking about now.

By the time they arrived, Arthur's head was ringing. Yao seemed to be in higher spirits after his rant. He linked his arm with Arthur's, the other hand holding his panda.

"Come come! They'll take our bags so let's get going! It's fun to ride with those weird horse things!" He smiled happily.

"Horse things…? You mean the Thestrals? You can see them?" Arthur's eyes grew wide.

He knew that they were only seen by those who have seen death, but Arthur had never seen someone die. He could see them because of the _Sight_, he wondered if Yao had the same ability.

"Mmhmm," Yao hummed, dragging Arthur out of their room and out into the hall where more students were filling into. "I didn't tell you? I was in the car crash with my parents. I saw my mom bleed out, she didn't die right away. She kept assuring me everything was going to be alright and that I would be okay." He gave a sad smile.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry. I shouldn't have asked." Arthur's heart jumped out of his chest at the new information. He quickly tried to apologize once more, but Yao waved him off.

"No, Zhè shì zhèngcháng de, it's alright." He smiled at Arthur. "My mom was right, I was okay." He ended the conversation there, dragging Arthur out of the train and towards the coaches. Arthur spotted Kiku talking to Alfred and Matthew. He had a troubled look on his face as he tugged at the Hufflepuff scarf wrapped around his neck.

Kiku looked up when he spotted Arthur and Yao; he excused himself from the twins to jog over to them. He bowed once reaching them, his face even more troubled. "Arthur-san, it is good to see you. I'm sorry if Wang Yao has caused any unnecessary trouble to you. He can be a bit overwhelming."

"Oh it was no trou-" Arthur started before Yao cut him off.

"I wasn't any trouble to Arthur. Unlike some people, he enjoys my company." Yao hissed at Kiku.

A small flash of hurt passed through Kiku's eyes before his expression turned neutral. "Yao please, let's not bother Arthur-san anymore."

Yao pulled at Arthur's arm and stomped off to the farthest coach. "Then you should leave! You're the one being a bother, aru." He called over his shoulder.

Arthur followed after Yao, having no choice since he had a vine-like grip on his wrist. He glanced over his shoulder and sent Kiku an apologetic look. Kiku returned a soft smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

He followed Yao to the coaches, the strange horses pulling them. He smiled at the Thestral that was pulling his, going up to its face to pet it gently. It shook its head, not used to being acknowledged. He gave a small chuckle before climbing into the carriage, sitting in the seats behind Yao.

Kiku sat in the coach behind them, watching Yao with an unreadable expression. Alfred sat in front of him; Jessica sat next to him, chatting happily. Matthew climbed into the coach with Arthur and Yao, whispering a small hello before sitting next to Arthur. Francis climbed in with them and sat with Yao, turning around in his seat he smirked at Arthur.

"You look like you're thinking." He commented.

"Yes, I am. Thank you for noticing." Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Don't think too much, you might burn out your brain." He chuckled.

Arthur's face heated up in a blush, he was glad that it was so dark out. He growled at the French man. "You'd better watch yourself frog or you might not make it to your fourth year."

"Such threatening words, I wonder if you have the balls to carry them out." He over-dramatically flipped his hair.

"Don't speak so vulgarly." Arthur gave him a disgusted glare.

"Oh but mon cher, you like it when I talk dirty don't you?" He wiggled his eyebrows at Arthur. Matthew looked appalled at Francis.

"I- You... bastard!" Arthur stuttered before he launched over the seat at Francis. Francis squealed as Arthur grabbed him by his locks, tugging at his hair.

"Ow! Tiens bon!" He began shouting in French, words Arthur didn't know and frankly, didn't care for.

Matthew however, seemed to understand what Francis was saying. He began to panic, "Come on guys settle down! Francis, let go of Arthur! Arthur, don't pull Francis's hair!"

He tried to break up the two as the carriage began move. Yao laughed at their squabble, thinking it was very funny. Francis pulled at Arthur's hair, throwing out insults about his eyebrows. Arthur pulled at Francis's hair and ears, calling him a Frog and other unmentionable insults.

Matthew managed to pull Arthur off of the French lad after great effort. Arthur looked ready to lunge at Francis once again but Matthew had a firm grip on his arm. He was strong even though he looked so frail. He gave a huff and looked at the two with scolding eyes.

"How could you fight on this small carriage? You two are third years; you should start acting like that instead of children." He crossed his arms over his chest while Arthur and Francis hung their heads.

It felt embarrassing to be scolded by someone like Matthew, but it was also rather funny. Arthur, Francis, Yao, and even Matthew broke into fits of laughter when the scolding was over. Arthur smiled warmly at Matthew who smiled back, bumping his shoulder with Arthur's. Arthur bumped back and they continued the little game of bumping each other on the arm. They were both unaware of the heated glare Alfred was giving his twin and Arthur. Alfred obviously ignored whatever Jessica was saying, his gaze locked on the two.

When they arrived at the school they sat at their tables waiting for the naming ceremony to start. Arthur had a large gap between him and the other house members; they sent Arthur glares, some of them fearful. Arthur rolled his eyes, not really caring. He handled it all last year and even some minor bullying. So far it hadn't gotten too extreme, Arthur was glad for that. He wasn't worried about a magic duel, but a fist fight he knew he'd lose. Arthur was never one for physical things.

He glanced up and almost jumped out of his skin when his gaze locked onto Alfred's. He was seething all the way on the other side of the room. His eyes bore into Arthur's with such fierceness Arthur couldn't help but be the first to look away. His heart had started to beat erratically and he placed a hand over it to calm it. He took a deep breath, telling himself that Alfred had only just glanced at him. He told himself that Alfred hadn't been looking at him the whole time, that it wasn't likely.

He turned his gaze back up to the front as Vladimir stood up, holding up his hands to quiet down the noise. Everyone looked up at the man dressed in a beautiful crimson coat with a black button down shirt and slacks. He had on a white tie that spilled out in small ruffles. To go with his outfit was a small red top hat with black lace, pinned into his hair. He smiled; his large canine's glinting in the lights. Arthur had always wondered if the Headmaster was a vampire, though he never had the guts to ask him that directly.

Vladimir cleared his throat and his gaze traveled over the crowd as his hands rested in front of him. "Welcome to Hogwarts, those who are new and those who are not. It is a great joy to have you in our school. Just for warning, the dark forest is forbidden unless you are with a teacher or you have permission from one. Now, professor Braginski will read off the names for the sorting hat. After that we will feast and let you rest up, for tomorrow is Monday and Monday comes with school." He let out a small chuckle as there were collective groans from the students. He sat back down and Ivan walked up to the sorting hat, holding up a list. He had been the one leading the first years to Hogwarts, _isn't that a good scare for the young lads_. Arthur chuckled to himself.

He listened as the names were called; soon there were a total of 8 new Slytherin members, 5 boys and 3 girls. Arthur gave a dry laugh. He found it funny how he was the only third year boy yet there were 7 second year males and 5 first year males. He shrugged to himself, happy with the more spacious room. He was able to be himself when he was alone, he could talk to the Grindylows without anyone pestering him. He could read, he could do homework, and he could have Peony out. He could do all of these things without anyone there to judge him.

He looked up at the first year sitting across from him. He looked at Arthur and flashed him a grin. He leaned over the table and held out a hand. Arthur looked down at it, surprised and suspicious.

"Ello mate, name's Jack." He had an Australian accent and grinned at him.

The boy had dark brown hair with two strands standing out of the rest and dazzling green eyes. He had a band aid on the bridge of his nose, standing out on his slightly tanned skin.

Arthur looked back down at his hand before shaking it slowly. "I'm Arthur Kirkland…"

Jack whistled and slowly drew his hand away. "So you're Arthur?"

Arthur sighed and waited for the boy to bolt, he knew this would happen.

"Ain't that interesting?" He grinned.

Arthur's eyes grew wide and his mouth almost dropped. He shook his head and glared at Jack suspiciously. "Aren't you going to move away? Try and find another seat? Damn my existence into the earth?"

"Not really." He leaned back and swung his legs, kicking Arthur occasionally. He didn't seem to care about that fact though. "So what if those rumors are or aren't true. I don't give two jumps of a roo if you're an evil wizard or not. If you are then that makes it all the greater of an adventure, right pommy?"

Arthur gave him a confused look, "Pommy?"

"Is a thing we call Englishmen. No harm done." He smirked and rested his head on the palms of his hands. "So why ain't ya sitting with all the other Slytherin blokes?"

"As you can see, they don't really enjoy my company. I suggest you stop talking to me too unless you also want to be ignored by the entire house of Slytherin." Arthur glanced at the other house members from the corner of his eye. He could see a few watching him and the Aussie, silently judging.

"Well you won't be ignoring me, that's not all of Slytherin. 'Sides, you're pretty interesting. Befriending a curse makes for a good adventure, don't it mate?" He chuckled as Arthur scowled at him.

"I am _not_ a curse." He hissed.

"Yeah yeah, whatever floats your boat." He waved Arthur off as the food magically appeared in front of them. "Sweet, time for some grub!"

Arthur watched Jack pile food onto his plate, taking a bite of things every now and again. Arthur scrunched up his nose, daintily picking things and eating. He took a baked potato after putting butter it in, grabbing a biscuit and some gravy. He added on a few baked carrots and broccoli along with a small pile of beans. Jack looked up at Arthur's meal, a turkey leg near his mouth.

"Oi mate, ya gonna starve yourself you keep eatin' like a fairy." He took a bite and pulled of the meat, slurping it up and going for more.

Arthur ignored his rude table manners and focused on his food. "I'm perfectly happy with my meal." He poured himself a cup of tea, recognizing the taste of camellia tea. He sighed, silently appreciating the cup. Arthur ate slowly, enjoying his meal happily.

Glancing up he spotted Germania sitting next to Romulus. He watched Romulus attempt to feed Germania who angrily slapped his hand away. Germania seemed to threaten the man, who backed off reluctantly. Arthur smiled, his cheeks a light pink.

That summer his brothers had talked to him about the birds and the bees. Arthur had screamed for them not to and that it was gross. But they had done it because they knew how his brother would feel. Arthur had then learned that the so called "friendship" between Romulus and Germania was more than that. After he learned that he had wondered how he would act around them, what if they figured out that he knew? Would they stop hanging around him? Arthur had then decided that they wouldn't do that, they wouldn't dare do that to a student.

Arthur focused on his food, which he noticed was being stolen. He picked up his fork and smacked it down on Jack's hand. Jack dropped Arthur's potato and drew his hand back with a yelp. He pointed his fork at Jack threateningly. "Paw's off, Aussie."

He cradled his offended hand and sent Arthur a challenging grin. "And who's gonna make me?"

Arthur dropped one of the extra potatoes onto Jack's plate. He smiled sarcastically. "There you go, enjoy it."

Jack watched him before snorting, shaking his head and digging into the potato. "You're a weird one."

Arthur and Jack talked as they went to their dorms; Arthur wished him luck for the _Slytherin Welcoming Ceremony_. After he left the Aussie, who claimed he was ready for anything they gave him, Arthur settled into his empty room. He picked the bed closest to the window yet again, staring out into the emptiness. He held his finger up to the glass and tapped on it, making a steady rhythm. He waited for a good five minutes before he saw the shadowy forms flicker across his window. He smiled and waited a little longer for what he knew was coming.

One by one his Grindylow friends floated down to his window, each making a funny face at Arthur. Arthur laughed and made his own face at the Grindylows. They soon released their faces and broke into fights of tiny shrill laughter, Arthur laughing with them. He whipped a tear, his eyes having watered from so much laughter.

"It's good to see you all again. I've missed you very much, how have you guys been?" Arthur smiled. He held up a finger, realizing something was missing. "Oh, hold on a moment!"

He ran to one of his bags and opened it up, pulling out a jar filled with raw octopus meat. The Grindylows made shrill squeals of joy and did flips in the water, knowing exactly what that treat was.

"I told mum I needed this again, the first time she asked me 'why do you need so many' and I said 'it's for my friends living in the Hogwarts Lake'. You should've seen her face; she was as white as a ghost! She was worried I would fall into the lake and drown. It's only because I can't swim, embarrassing I know. But I've never gotten the chance to learn properly, I've been afraid to actually try and learn. Ever since I almost drowned back then, to be honest, I'm fine not really being able to swim." He smiled cunningly. "But let's keep that between us. I don't want it getting around this school. Who knows who would use such information."

He laughed and pulled a chair away from one of the desks, putting it in front of the window and sitting down. He smiled and looked down at the massive jar. The Grindylows licked their lips in anticipation, eagerly wanting the delicate meat. Sea octopus was hard to come by in their freshwater lake. Arthur had learned in his first year that it was their favorite, so he had promised to bring them some jars when the summer ended. He had brought 4 of them, making sure each lasted as long as they could. But that had not gone as well as he had hoped.

"This time I bought 6 jar's, you guys blew through them last time like there was no tomorrow. This time you'll only get some every three days, understood?" Arthur eyed them all until they gave a hasty nod in agreement. Arthur smiled and set the jar on a desk closest to the window. "Good. I'll give you guys some tomorrow alright? I need to sleep now, or I won't get up tomorrow."

They all made a squeal of disappointment, some blowing bubbles. Arthur smiled and put his hands on his hips. "Now don't act like that. Buck up, I promise I'll bring you guys some tomorrow. I promise."

They all made different words of agreement before waving and swimming off, leaving Arthur alone. He sighed and climbed into his bed, instantly feeling tired. He yawned and thought about how his day had been so far. He had almost gotten beaten up by a group of Slytherin's, his brothers had interfered, he managed to talk to Alfred before _Jessica_ ruined it, he became involved in Kiku and Wang Yao's fight, and he made a "friend" in his own house.

Arthur thought about Jack, he was courageous, no doubt about that. Arthur paused, _hold on. If he has such courage as to talk to the curse of Slytherin, then why isn't he in Gryffindor?_ Arthur grew confused, had he changed his house? No, that was impossible for someone to do. Then why was he in Slytherin? Did he have more ambition than a Gryffindor? Was it because he was a pure-blood? Arthur pondered over the thought before figuring it was the best bet that he was a pure-blood. That was the only logical point Arthur could think of.

He rolled on his side and let out another yawn, deeming it time to sleep. He closed his eyes, cutting off his vision from the room surrounding him. He slowly drifted off, thinking of the future and what creature he would adopt for the Care of Magical creatures class. He tried to not feel to giddy about what he might get. Maybe he would get a hippogriff, or a Thestral, what if he got an Acromantula? Arthur groaned and changed his position on the bed, biting his bottom lip. He just _had_ to sleep! He _needed_ to sleep. Arthur closed his eyes tighter, scolding himself for staying awake. He sighed again and cleared his mind, focusing on sleeping.

Arthur walked to the docks, the jar of octopus in his arms. He had managed to fall asleep, waking up extra early to get ready. Germania had been happy to see Arthur, chatting to the boy like he was an old friend. In this year they attempted a "joined" class, meaning each house join other houses for classes, all split up evenly so there weren't too many in one class. It felt like a normal class too, only with Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor all jumbled up together. Though the Slytherin members were few, they all were split up to be in different classes. No Slytherin was in the same class at the same time unless by chance, this decision had confused Arthur greatly.

Arthur was surprised to see Yao in one of his classes; for he had picked Divination as his second elective. When he questioned the China man about it, Yao had told him that he didn't need to make up Divination; he was just really good at it so he was an assistant for the teacher. He apparently was thinking of doing fortune telling for a career. His readings were usually right on the dot, from what he had told Arthur anyways.

His class with Germania was fairly fun. He had picked Arthur to be his class assistant since he knew the Brit rather well and he knew Arthur could handle the creatures. Arthur had been proud and happy for the position, eager to accept. Matthew was also in that class, relieved to at least know one person. They were equally excited for the new course of raising their own magical creature. Arthur just hoped that his parents let him keep whatever he raised.

_"Now I understand you all want to raise a magical creature. I'll tell you now that you will be able to." Germania had explained. There were a few scattered whispers of excitement. The German professor held up his hand for silence before continuing._

_"Before that you'll be required to have three things done. One, you will need to sign a paper that says you will care for and raise your creature. You can also keep it, if you so choose. You will then need to send a permission slip to your parent or guardian, asking them if it is alright for you to raise and keep the creature you pick-"_

_"We get to pick which creature we raise?" A girl called out._

_"I want a Hippogriff!" A Ravenclaw boy shouted._

_"I want a Dragon!" A Gryffindor boy screamed out._

_Arthur had turned to look at the boy with wide eyes, the thought secretly intriguing the Brit._

_"Hush!" Germania's stern yell made all the noise stop. His serious, cold gaze drifted over every student before he continued. "Yes, you will get to pick. But it depends on your budget. You can get a reptile or mammal, whatever you can afford. You will also be able to name them whatever you want. The Minister of Magic has agreed that after you purchase your creature they will send you a letter that will be signed. It will state that, when you think of a name for it, will be owned by you. The paper will then be sent back to the Minister of Magic where they will document it and send you the finished copied version."_

_"After that your creature will officially be yours, permanently and under documentation. This way no one can steal your creature or remove it without your consent. Unless you sell it, then ownership transfers. Is that understood?"_

_"Yes, professor Beilschmidt." The students said in unison._

_"Gut," He had then proceeded to hand out books. "You will use these for the majority of the year. We will be studying Magical Creature care until November 8th, and then we will take a field trip to Diagon alley where we will go and select your Creature. You have till then to earn as much money as you can for your creature. If you cannot afford one I will chip in to buy you a creature, however it will be my decision on what you get." He had glanced over all the students before clearing his throat._

_"Now, turn to page 16 and we will begin reading on the Birth of Magical Creatures."_

Arthur sat at the end of the dock and opened the jar, wrinkling his nose at the smell. He pulled out his wand and used a quick levitation spell, lifting up some octopus and tossing it into the murky water. He watched it as it floated on the surface. After a few minutes it disappeared under the depths, Arthur had caught the glimpse of small bony fingers wrapping around the piece and dragging it under.

He smiled and waited for the familiar heads to bop up from the surface, chittering happily after consuming the octopus bits. They opened their mouths and pointed to them, begging for more. Arthur gave them a scolding look, pulling out the book he had been trying to read on the train.

"You have words, use them." He stated.

They Grindylows let out a multitude of whines before quickly rambling in their language, begging the young wizard for more. Arthur smiled before flicking his wand, tossing some into the water. He watched as they launched at the tentacle and tore into it. The first time Arthur had seen them fight over the food he had panicked. He told them not to fight, but they had explained to him it was as common as fish in the lake. They said not to worry and that none of them ever got injured in their little food squabbles.

Arthur read his book, flinging some squid with his magic occasionally. He hummed to himself, swinging his legs over the dock, inches above the water. When he had reached Chapter 3 of his book he noticed the Grindylows watching him even after he had tossed them some Octopus.

"What's the matter?" He tilted his head, glancing over his shoulder as if expecting someone to be there. He was met with only the sight of a few students roaming the path leading to the docks. He shrugged; they were too far to be a bother to him or his friends.

They chirped something and Arthur looked back at them. "This? Oh it's just a book."

They said something again and Arthur smiled a bit. "I would be happy to read you some. The part I'm at is where Silvia has just met Fidi while he is attempting to get out of a trap. Ahem." He cleared his throat before reading out loud, remembering to flick octopus every two pages.

"_Fidi's body went rigid as he heard the oncoming footsteps of a horse. His tongue escaped his lips, flicking around to taste the sent in the air. His fear of it being a rider slowly dwindled as he could only taste horse. He lifted his head, glaring into the darkness that had plagued him since that horrible night in his early years. He pulled back his lips and let out a long hiss, attempting to scare the creature away. He did not intend for another creature to fall into the hands of humans, even if it was a simple horse._

_'Stay back! Keep away! This place is dangerous!' He wriggled around in the net. He could feel it scraping against his scaly body; the rope would break any second now. The Basilisk's weight was too much for the simple trap._

_'It cannot be more dangerous than the horrors I have encountered thus far.' The mare spoke, her eyes saddened and the wriggling form. _

_'What are you?' The snake hissed out, baring his fangs. 'You smell of horse yet you speak in the tongue of man. Such knowledge is lost to the creatures of this forest. Only a few can remember how to form such words. You are no mere horse.'_

_She stopped a safe distance away from him, yet still close enough to look into his eyes. She let out an inaudible gasp as she looked into the gouged out sockets. They had long ago stopped bleeding, the blood washed away over time. Yet the damage was as visible as day, his eyes had been removed from their sockets and most likely sold to the highest bidder. Basilisk eyes were a rare thing to come by, they still had the power to paralyze someone even after being removed from the body._

_'You're blind…' She whispered, staring to feel pity for the beast. She moved closer and he hissed at her, flicking out his forked tongue to feel her body heat and create a mental image._

_'And just what are you exactly?'_

_'I am what was once here, but is now long gone. My kind used to roam these lands like yours roamed the mountains. I am a unicorn, I have reason to believe I am the last…' She said with her voice filled with raw pain._

_'A unicorn…? Truly?' Fidi shifted again, the ropes straining and groaning at the movement. 'Such creature still exists on this dying planet?'_

_The wind had long since picked up, carrying with it a new sent. Fidi was the first to taste it, knowing all too well who it belonged to. He quickly turned back to where the heat of the unicorn was strongest. His empty sockets focused on Silvia, making her resist the urge to shudder._

_'Unicorn, if you truly are the last of your kind then you must flee! There is no time; humans will be upon us in a matter of minutes! You must get as far as you can.' He hastily said, pushing against his restraints._

_'There are?' Silvia grew alarmed as she stretched her neck, craning to see anything that would give away the human's location. Her eyes widened in panic and her heart began to gallop at a higher speed than her legs could ever dream of running. 'But what of you? I cannot leave you to die!'_

_'It doesn't matter! I'm useless to the world anyways; my eyes were taken from me. I cannot see to be able to protect my life. I'd rather die here than over the edge of a cliff.' Fidi ignored the strong need to live, it clawed at his mind, begging for him to reconsider._

_'That is no way to die! You can still fight on! Live for your kind! Will you throw away all your mother gave to you? She gave you life! Don't damn her gift because you've given up hope! Please! I beg of you, don't die this way!' She pleaded, moving closer to the large snake._

_'And what will I do if I live? Wonder into another trap?' Fidi hissed, his tongue flicking angrily._

_'Come with me!' Silvia's top priority now was to free the snake, she ignored the sound of footsteps thudding on the group. Her ears laid flat on her head and she was visibly shaking, she was afraid._

_'What? Are you crazy?' Fidi reared his head back in shock._

_'Please,' her voice was barely above a whisper, her words almost drifted away on the wind. 'I don't want to be alone anymore.'_

_Fidi's heart clenched at her words, for as long as he could remember, he too was alone. His father had been long dead since his mother had laid him; she was skinned before he even had the chance to meet her. His eyes had been ripped out when they had started to gain their ability of paralysis. He had then been tortured and fed to grow larger so they could skin him. He had escaped trap after trap, human after human. He had faced it all alone, he had been scared every moment of his life, and he had never known the comfort and warmth of friendship. It was something he craved more than anything, the thought of companionship._

_He came to his conclusion, but not quickly enough. The humans were on them before they had the chance to react. Silvia let out a whinny of fear as they came into view, guns raised and ready to tranquilize their catch. The rope then chose to break and set the Basilisk free. He moved quickly, sensing the body heat the humans radiated. They never stood a chance as he dived from one to the other, ripping off limbs or puncturing their bodies with his fangs. He snarled and hissed, fighting them off. Those smart enough chose to flee, leaving behind those wounded and still alive. _

_Fidi quickly slid back to the frightened Silvia, 'We don't have much time. They'll be back with reinforcements, we need to leave now!' his voice was urgent and Silvia nodded._

_'A-alright,' she tried to sound strong, turning around to sprint in the opposite direction where the humans had come from. 'Keep up with me!' She called over her shoulder. She almost stopped in her running when she didn't see the large snake anymore, however, the rustling in the trees made her look up. Fidi was slipping from branch to branch at an alarming speed, easily managing to keep up with the Unicorn. She couldn't stop her small smile from breaking across her face. 'I'm Silvia, what's your name?' She called up to him._

_He leapt to another branch, his long body following after him. 'I'm called Fidi.'_

Arthur looked up at the sky that had grown dark alarmingly fast. He had not noticed when the sun had started to set. He and his Grindylow friends had been too absorbed in the book; Arthur had even stopped tossing octopus into the lake for them. Though the Grindylows had neither noticed nor cared, they too were enjoying Arthur's reading. Arthur closed the jar and smiled at them apologetically.

"Sorry guys, I lost track of the time. I need to go now; I have homework I need to get done. I'll come back and read to you guys on Thursday! I promise!" They chirped a goodbye as Arthur gathered his things in his arms and ran down the dock and up the path to the school dorms.

By the time he entered it had obviously grown dark, no one appeared to be in the common room. He slipped into the third year rooms, going to the men's section and closing the door behind him. He sighed and smiled happily, putting the jar of octopus into a trunk at the foot of a bed along with the other filled jars. He set his book on an empty desk and pulled out some papers from one of his class books. He settled at the desk closest to his bed, flicking on the light and beginning to do his homework.

Arthur had finished it quickly and then changed, settling into his bed. He sighed and pulled the blankets securely under his chin, humming contently. He yawned and closed his eyes, letting out another happy sigh. He fell asleep without resistance, dreaming of the creature he was to obtain in only two short months.

That morning Arthur had sat at the Slytherin table, Jack had picked the seat in front of him and had began to ramble on about how he had been the only brave one at the _Slytherin Welcoming Ceremony_. Arthur gave him a humorous look and sipped his Raspberry tea slowly, savoring the nice flavor.

"Jack, I must ask you something." Arthur set his tea back down on its tiny saucer before clearing his throat. The Aussia was stuffing a muffing in his face; he glanced up at the Brit and cracked a smile. His cheeks were stuffed to the breaking point and he looked incredibly silly.

"Shoot." He said through his mouthful.

Arthur scrunched up his nose but continued on, "Forgive my prying, but you appear to be rather courageous."

"Well thank you for noticing." He drawled, puffing out his chest at the compliment.

Arthur rolled his eyes at the obvious ego he was supporting, it wasn't quite as big as Gilbert's, but it was still rather annoying. "As I was saying, that's not really a Slytherin trait. Isn't it mostly Gryffindor?"

Jack's smile fell into a thoughtful look as he pondered it. He hummed audibly and tilted his head from side to side, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well I guess ya can say that. The sortin' hat did say I would do wonders in Gryffindor. But I asked him not to."

"Y-you asked the sorting hat to put you in Slytherin?" Arthur looked utterly lost, since when had anyone wanted to willingly be put in Slytherin? Ever since the dark war, Slytherin was un-favored by everyone in Hogwarts, even some Slytherin students! Though Arthur admitted he was one of those people at first, but now it was different. He rather liked the Slytherin house, more so than he would've first thought.

"Yeah, sounds about right." Jack sniffed and grinned, nodding as if to confirm it twice.

"Why on earth would you do that?" Arthur pursed his lips.

"Well cuz you were in 'ere." He scratched his cheek, glancing away in shyness.

"Wah-Me?" Arthur was at a loss for words. A blush quickly flew to his cheeks and heated them up, Arthur stuttered as he tried to hide them. "Preposterous! Why on earth would anyone want to meet me?"

"I dunno; its cuz ya seemed like a new adventure. Hanging out with a kid who's supposed to be cursed? I jumped at the chance." He chuckled and smiled warmly at Arthur. "You ain't how the rumors say. Sure you're pretty stuffy," He ignored Arthur's protest and continued, "But you're alright. So far anyways, got a whole year to learn 'bout you. Don't I, Pommy?"

Arthur blushed again and looked at his tea, muttering a small, "Its Arthur."

He nearly jumped out of his skin when an arm slid over his shoulder and a face leaned down next to his. Bright crimson eyes clashed with green ones, the red danced with a fire of liveliness and mischievousness all rolled into one.

"Aw what's this? Little tree snake Arthur's got the hot's for a first year?" Gilbert snickered, a devilish grin spreading across his snow white face. The albino had taken to calling him "Little Tree Snake" because of his eyes being a bright green and the fact that he was in Slytherin. Arthur had much preferred this name than that bloody "Eyebrows", Gilbert had called him his first year.

"Now just a second, you can't just go around assuming things like that! You're misunderstanding something Gilbert!" Arthur bristled and rounded on the 7th year.

"Yeah man, I think Arthur is cool and all but dude that's too far. I prefer a woman to a man, no offence." Jack stood up, also attempting to defend himself.

"No need to hide it. Kesesesese, even I have trouble hiding my affection for others." The Brit watched, to his horror, as Gilbert stood up on the bench and yelled out at the Ravenclaw table. "Yo Roderich! Looking sexy today!" He hollered. Everyone turned to look at the Slytherin then at the Ravenclaw in question.

The male with cleanly combed brown hair and neat robes looked up in shock. A dark blush exploded across his face and even his glasses couldn't hide the embarrassment shining in his eyes. He attempted to stutter something out, but he chose to standing up and leaving as his best bet. Another Ravenclaw, a girl, stood up and called out his name. She had long brown locks and a flower in her hair. She sent Gilbert a cold glare before running after the poor boy.

Gilbert sat back down, laughing like a maniac. He held his stomach and slammed his hand down on the table. He laughed for a good five more minutes before he began to try and breathe regularly. "Did you see his face? Fucking priceless! And Elizaveta looked ready to pop a vein! Holy crap my sides hurt!" He started laughing again, even harder than before.

Arthur stole a glance up, locking eyes with Germania. They sent each other an apologetic look before turning their gazes to the wheezing Albino. Antonio came up behind Gilbert and rested a hand on his shoulder.

"Mi amigo, you really shouldn't push her like that. She could seriously put you on your ass faster than you can say awesome." The Spaniard smiled at Jack, then at Arthur. "Little serpiente del árbol, how are you feeling?"

"I'm quite Alright, though I'm more worried about Gilbert. He doesn't appear to be breathing." They looked down at the Albino who was leaning over the table, his shoulders shaking from laughing so hard. He stood up suddenly, making Arthur jump.

"Ah! That was a good laugh! Right, come on Antonio. Let's go say hi to Franny." The albino stalked off to find the Frenchman at his table. Antonio nodded a goodbye before following.

"Franny?" Arthur watched them before a devious smile worked its way on his lips. "Oh I so will be using that."

"Woah man, you're freaking me out with that smile. Stop it, its seriously creepy." Jack eyed him wearily before turning back to the food. Arthur chuckled, glancing up in time to see blue eyes quickly look away from him. His heart clenched in his chest and his hands suddenly felt clammy as he watched Alfred angrily chomp on some bacon. He frowned and went back to his tea and English breakfast, wondering if it was just his imagination.

For the next few weeks Arthur had attended his classes diligently. He had started to hang out with Matthew and Jack more, Yao had also joined them. He had made sure to avoid Kiku as much as he could. Arthur wished their fighting would end; he disliked being dragged into the situation. Whenever Yao had seen him and Kiku chatting he would instantly butt into their conversation and say something to steal Arthur away. When Kiku had often shown signs of wanting to actually talk to the China man, he had been brushed off. Yao would always say that he was either too busy or that he had a test coming up.

Arthur had kept his promise and had gone to the Grindylows to feed them every three days. He would then read from his book while they ate. They enjoyed the story just as much as the Brit did, if not more. They were always so eager to see the Brit when it was the third day, even if they had talked just the night before. Arthur had enjoyed reading to them, happy they liked his choice in reading material.

Gilbert and Antonio had decided to try out for the Quidditch team in their last year of Hogwarts. They had dragged Arthur to the tryouts, forcing him and Francis to watch. Francis had no trouble finding a distraction; the girls from the other houses who were also watching fed his perverted mind. While he flirted, Arthur had watched. First to tryout was Gryffindor, Arthur wasn't entirely surprised to find Alfred trying out. He smiled and sat in awe as Alfred zipped past on his broom. He did ticks and turns, spins and dodges, things Arthur could only dream of doing on a broom.

To say he was envious was a tad bit much, but he was slightly angry at himself for being so uncoordinated on the broom. He had watched the American in awe, loving how he had such a determined look throughout the whole thing. He smiled unconsciously, watching him more than the others. When the Gryffindor tryouts ended, Alfred had looked up and searched the crowd. Arthur had rolled his eyes, figuring he was looking for Jessica. But when his brilliant blue eyes landed on Arthur, he had choked on his breath. They held each other's eyes for a long while; Arthur began to shift nervously on the benches. After a few more seconds Arthur was the first to break the gaze. His heart was hammering in his chest as he continued to feel the intense stare Alfred was giving him. Even when the Gryffindor's were cleared off the field, Arthur didn't relax. He was to wound up, his heart wouldn't calm down no matter what.

He had left soon after the Hufflepuff's finished, not even staying for the Slytherin. He figured he'd hear about it anyways, his mind was elsewhere. He had locked himself in his room after that, studying for Germania's class. By the time the Quidditch players were posted the word had spread around like fire. Gilbert and Antonio had made it, both choosing to be beaters. When Arthur had asked Gilbert why he didn't want to be a seeker, Gilbert had said it was because his eyesight wasn't the best. Arthur had remembered reading in one of his books that Albino's didn't have great eyesight, but their hearing was above average.

Alfred had made the team, obviously. The Gryffindor had been ecstatic, bouncing around the school like he was still a child. When Arthur was hanging around Matthew one day, he had learned that Alfred had been avoiding his brother. When he had questioned Matthew, he had been told that even Matthew didn't know the reason. Arthur had felt bad instantly and had begun to think that he was the reason why.

_"Now just what do you mean by that?" Matthew had stood up from where they sat in the field to put his hands on his hips. Arthur looked up at him and shrugged._

_"It's exactly what I mean. Alfred and I have been fighting since the First year. You suddenly hanging out with me must be making him mad. He must be thinking that you've betrayed him, hanging out with a Slytherin and all." Arthur had told the half Canadian._

_"Well here's what I have to say about your "theory". I don't give a flying cow what Alfred thinks. If he's going to be act like a kid and not talk it out with you, then that's his problem. I can hang out with whoever I want, it isn't his business anyways." Matthew had scolded him, taking on the motherly role yet again. "Slytherin or not, you're still my friend. You're still Arthur. Who cares you're in a different house? That shouldn't keep me, you, hell, that shouldn't keep __**anyone,**__ from befriending someone. I for one don't care if you're Slytherin. No one really said we needed to act like enemies."_

_Arthur had stared at him with wide eyes before smiling sweetly. "Thank you, Matthew…. You know…. It scares me sometime how you and Alfred think along the same lines."_

_"Yeah well, we're twins you know? I guess it's a twin thing?" Matthew had blushed at that, taking it as a compliment._

_"Well even if you and Alfred are twins, you're still you. You're still Matthew." Arthur and Matthew smiled at each other, holding each other's gaze for a short while._

_"Thanks…" Matthew mumbled._

Arthur sighed at the memory, smiling to himself as he made his way down the lake. He didn't notice he was being tailed by a familiar group of people while he walked down the path. The first jar of octopus was almost empty, making it easier to carry in one hand. In his other hand he held his book, excited to be reading it again. He had decided to read it to his Grindylow friends, so he didn't read it when he wasn't with them. He would either read it to them at night from his room, or when he was at the docks.

He set the jar of octopus down and leaned over, running his hand along the surface of the water. "I'm here you guys!"

He stood up and smiled, waiting for them to come to his call. He had learned that he could summon the creatures with the use of his _sight_. He wasn't sure how it worked, but all he knew was that he called out to them with his mind and heart. When he had asked them about it, they had told him they had felt a tug in their mind telling them to go to where Arthur was. They all had pondered over it before shrugging and deciding to ignore it for now.

"Well lookie what we have here, if it isn't the British Caterpillar."

Arthur whipped around and stared at the group of Slytherin's making their way towards him. Edith and Josh were in the front, Addison and Jake following them. They all gave Arthur a snooty smirk, acting all high and mighty. Arthur groaned internally, rolling his eyes. _Can my day get any worse?_

"What's this? Did he come here to talk to his "friends"?" Addison laughed.

"What friends?" Jake snorted.

Arthur growled and glared daggers at them. "Piss off! I don't have time for your crazy antics right now! Go bother someone else that actually _cares_." Arthur said, pure venom dripping from every one of his words.

"Little shit, just who do you think you're talking to?" Josh snarled, glaring at Arthur.

"Someone who abuses his power then expects every bloody Slytherin to kiss his arse." Arthur rolled his eyes.

"You've got some balls." Josh paused and looked down at the book Arthur was carrying. Arthur's heart dropped and he made to hide it behind his back, though it was too late. Josh had snatched it out of his hands faster than Arthur could move. "What's this? A book?"

"Give it back! It's mine!" Arthur moved to grab it but was held back by Jake.

"Holy crap, it's a book with unicorns in it. What a fucking fairy!" He cackled, flipping through the book and stopping at a page. "Guys, listen to this. _Silvia watched in horror as Fidi shoved the small boat she was on away. She cried out to him, screaming for him to not do it. He ignored her pleas and made sure she was far away from the poacher's boat before he slid on their deck. They shot at the large snake, hopping to kill him before he could do serious damage. Their bullets lodged themselves into his body. He killed anyone who got in his way, aiming for the boiler room. He bit into a human and flung him overboard, his massive body taking up a large amount of the deck. _

_"Others took axes and they began to hack at the large snake, managing to break through some parts of his defense and cause him to bleed. Fidi cried out in pain as he was hacked at, blood spilling out of his body with every swing. He slid down to the boiler room, the poacher's following him. He was aware of the boat still moving towards Silvia, the friend he had sent off so she wouldn't fall victim to them. He had known what was coming and what the only option was. His only option was to sacrifice himself and destroy the boat so that she would be safe, so that she would be free." _ Josh and the others broke out laughing.

Arthur shook with rage as he watched Josh mock his beloved book; he watched how they laughed at Fidi's death. His anger boiled as they laughed at the Basilisk's selfless sacrifice, how he had given his own life to protect his first and only friend. Arthur growled out and stomped hard on Jake's foot. Jake let him go with a yelp; Arthur took this chance to elbow him in the gut.

While he was doubled over in pain Arthur charged at Josh. He quickly snatched his book and pulled his fist back, making contact with his nose. Josh let out a cry as he stumbled backwards. He tipped over the edge and let out another yell as he fell off the dock and into the water. Arthur chose then to run from the group, but Addison grabbed the hood of his cloak and tugged him back. Edith helped the drenched Josh clamber back onto the dock. He growled and stormed up to Arthur, Addison and Jake holding him tightly in their grips.

Josh had a wet blood smear making its way down his nose; Arthur smirked smugly at the injury he caused to the older male. That proved to be the wrong move as Josh grabbed Arthur by the front of his cloak and hoisted him into the air, his feet dangling inches above the wooden planks.

"You shit excuse for a Slytherin! I'll teach you to fuck with me!" He shook Arthur for good measure, snarling into his face.

"I hope it doesn't involve you being this close to me, your breath is rancid." Arthur used his free hand to wave the air close to his face. "Ever hear of the marvelous invention called toothpaste? It could do you wonders."

"Why you little…." Josh hissed and he looked over Arthur's shoulder. A wicked smile overtook his features and it made Arthur's blood turn cold.

With Arthur still dangling from his grip he walked to the edge of the dock and held Arthur out over it, his feet hanging high above the water. Arthur's hands latched around Josh's wrist, the colour draining from his face. He looked down at the dark murky depths below, a new fear settling into the pits of his stomach. _He wouldn't…_

"How's about it, wanna go for a swim Arthur?"

_He would. _Arthur swallowed hard and set the harshest glare he could muster, at Josh. He gathered spit in his mouth before sending it flying directly on Josh's face. The unmistakable rage that flashed in Josh's eyes told Arthur that he had yet again, made the wrong move.

Arthur should've known from his past attempts that fighting back would end in more dangerous situations, but he never did learn. He would fight back, just like he did with his brothers. He would either end up even more bruised than if he would've just sat and taken their beating. Yet they had taught Arthur, in their own twisted way, that to admit defeat meant you will always be defeated in everything you do. After Arthur's pain filled first year he had promised himself not to ever cry over anything. He had vowed to be stronger, and that unconsciously aided in his reasons to fight back.

Arthur's breath caught in his throat as Josh's hands let go of him, dropping him down to the icy waters. Arthur's book left his grip and landed in the water with him. Arthur couldn't even let out a yell as his whole head was submerged under the dark depths. His Grindylow friends, who had been watching the whole thing progress, screeched in fear. They knew Arthur couldn't swim, they knew the Brit would drown; they knew they had to do something.

A group of them circled Arthur's sinking body, grabbing at his cloak and attempting to help him go to the surface. It was hard, Arthur thrashed about in fear, screaming with his mouth closed tight. His heart was beating at an irregular pace, his skin pricked from the cold water. He couldn't see well through the murky water, but he could see the sunlight filtering through the water. He tried in vain, to swim towards it. The boy sunk like a rock, landing on the bottom of the lake. His lungs screamed for air and he could see a few black spots obscuring his vision. His thoughts were all blank as his Grindylow friends all swam in front of him, begging him to keep his eyes open and to stay awake.

Arthur's eyes began to cross and he could feel them going heavy. He let out a light whimper before the breath of air he was holding erupted from his mouth in an array of bubbles. The next thing Arthur knew was the harsh water filling his lungs and the world falling into blackness.


	6. Chapter 6

The group of Slytherin students peered over the edge of the dock; they watched the ripples in the water flatten out until all was still.

"He's not coming up." Jake mumbled, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"He's just messing with us. He's just waiting for us to leave before he comes up and tells the Headmaster." Josh spoke as if he was trying to convince himself.

"Can he even swim?" Edith snorted at Jake's question.

"Well duh! He's a freaking third year, how lame would it be if he couldn't swim?" She rolled her eyes.

"But guys, this lake isn't exactly unoccupied. There's the mermaids, giant squid, and who knows what else…" Addison swallowed, paling slightly. "Isn't there also Grindylows? I read that they drag wizards, witches, and muggles down to their deaths… you don't think…?" He trailed off, letting the rest of his question hang in the air.

Josh glanced around to see if anyone had witnessed their squabble. He quickly slapped Jake's shoulder and hissed. The group looked up to see a few Gryffindor students trudging along the side of the bank towards the docks. So far they had apparently not noticed the Slytherin members. Josh grabbed Edith by the wrist, dragging the girl with him.

"Let's go!" He snapped to the two boys behind him.

"What about the kid? Aren't we gonna try and fish him out?" Addison looked down into the murky depths.

"Do you want to be the one to go down there? If not then let's go! If anyone asks just say he fell over the side of the dock and the Grindylows got to him. Should be believable, he was feeding the fuckers this crap." Jake kicked the jar of octopus; it rolled over the side of the dock and splashed into the water, floating along the surface.

"Good point…" Addison sent one last look at the water before he and Jake ran to catch up to the other two.

Alfred looked up, having noticed the Slytherin students running from the docks like they were being chased by a dragon. Alfred led his small ground consisting of Jessica, Tom, Amy, and Toris. Alfred casually pretended he wanted to hang around on the dock for some reason, they didn't really question him. When he reached the edge he smiled and sat down, Jessica sitting awfully close to him. He swung his legs and looked at the water's surface, noticing the jar bobbing along the calm current.

"Hm? What's that?" He pointed it out and his friends looked down at it.

"A jar? What's it doing here?" Toris kneeled down to get closer. He reached out and strained, almost falling in. Alfred quickly grabbed onto his robes to steady him. Toris managed to fish it out, holding it up to examine its contents. "Octopus?"

"Ew. Who would wanna eat that?" Jessica stuck out her tongue.

"Doesn't that one snake come out to throw that in the lake? I saw him doing it last week and the week before that. I thought it was pretty strange. Maybe he dropped it?" Amy commented, shrugging.

Alfred paled slightly, swallowing a lump forming in his throat. He knew this was Arthur's favorite spot besides his dorm and the library, he also knew that Arthur's "friends" hung around here too. Alfred bit his lip, had something happened to the Brit? Alfred tried to tell himself that it wasn't possible, but he knew Arthur. Arthur had the personality of an old man; he was neat and proper, clean as a whistle. He wouldn't simply dump the jar in the lake, not while there was octopus still in there. Even if there wasn't, Arthur wouldn't dump trash in his friend's home.

Below the watery surface this portion of the lake was in chaos. Grindylows all had gathered in an attempt to lift the unconscious wizard, they could feel his heart beating throughout the water, it was slowly dwindling. A few of them stopped tugging at Arthur's robes to look up as they felt the surface being disturbed, they watched as hands took out the jar that had fallen in. Pointing up at it a few of them swam close to the surface to peek out. If it was the people who had sent Arthur to his death, they would drag them down and tear them limb from limb.

To their surprise they realized they weren't the same people, and one person in particular caught their eye. The boy that had the stunning blue eyes, glasses, wheat blond hair, and the Gryffindor robes. They remembered Arthur talking about him, they recall that this was the boy Arthur had described as his human friend. They began to chitter excitedly, maybe he could save Arthur!

One of them stopped their happy noises to hiss out to them. _Did Arthur not say him and the American were no longer friends? Would he even help? _It chattered quickly.

_If we don't find help soon, Arthur will die! The mermaids are too far off; they'll never make it here on time! His heart beat is already slowing down!_ Another chirped out, growing panicked.

_But can we risk it? How will we even get his attention? He cannot understand us like Arthur can!_ Another shot out.

_We shall try! Wait… the book! Arthur's book! Arthur brought a book! It fell into the water!_ One let out a high pitched squeal.

_Quickly! Everyone scatter! Find that book now!_ They fled off in every single direction, earnestly searching the depths in a violent haste to find the book. They frantically tried to find it, some diving into the dirt and digging until they had to dig themselves out. Finally their search came up fruitful, a Grindylow screeched out in triumph. Two more swam to it and helped it hoist up the book, they propelled to the surface and broke through, causing a small splash.

Jessica jumped up with a scream and Alfred jumped in surprise. Amy grabbed onto Jessica's hand and Toris looked frightened and weary at the sudden movement. The Grindylows hissed at Alfred and chittered in their language, one gesturing wildly. Alfred stared down at them with wide eyes before he noticed what they were carrying. He let out a gasp and quickly stood up, pointing at the soaked object.

"That book! I know it! Arthur was reading it on the train! That's Arthur's book!" He paled, Arthur loved his books, why on earth would he even toss it into the water? Where his books were, Arthur was there. But… where was Arthur then?

Jessica looked confused, glancing from Alfred then to the Grindylows. She let out a shudder. "What are those things? They're disgusting!"

"And creepy!" Amy added.

Alfred paid no attention to her; dropping to his knees he gripped the edge of the dock. "Where's Arthur? That is his book isn't it?" He asked, growing panicked. Even if he and Arthur were no longer considered friends, he still couldn't deny feeling something for the stuffy Brit. That feeling right now had morphed into a strong worry, twisting and hurting his heart.

The Grindylow not holding the book began to frantically gesture. It chattered quickly and began swimming in circles. Alfred drew his eyebrows together and frowned.

"I don't understand." He told them. They looked to be growing even more panicked and they all began to chitter at once. Alfred's frown deepened, if they were in such a fright then something seriously **_bad_** must've happened to Arthur, but what?

Toris also looked to be growing worried, edging closer to look down at the Grindylows. He gasped when he noticed more come to the surface; they were carrying a green and silver tie, a Slytherin tie. He quickly shook Alfred's shoulder. "Al, Al look!" He cried out.

Alfred's eyes grew wider as he caught sight of the tie. "Is that Arthur's?" He barely registered it was him who had spoken, fear and worry had landed in his stomach like a bomb.

The Grindylows nodded violently and pointed into the dark depths below them, confirming Alfred's thoughts.

"Oh no…" Toris gasped, covering his mouth in obvious horror. Out of all of Alfred's friends, he had been one of the small few who had been fine with him and Arthur's friendship. He was friends himself with a Hufflepuff member. He also had met Arthur so he knew who Alfred was talking about.

"He's in the lake?" Alfred almost screeched. The Grindylows all nodded and the ones holding the tie dived back under the water. Alfred swallowed and narrowed his eyes, standing up. He quickly threw off his Gryffindor robe, not turning to look at his friends while doing so.

"Al, what on earth are you doing?" Jessica cried.

"Don't be stupid! How can you trust those things?" Amy yelled.

"Toris," Alfred started, ignoring the two girls. "Go and get a professor. Quickly! Arthur will die if we don't do anything!"

Toris nodded slowly but hesitated, "What will you be doing then?" he dared to ask.

Alfred looked at him over his shoulder and grinned, holding a thumbs up. "I'll be a hero."

And with that he dived into the water, swimming down. He couldn't particularly see, even with his glasses clinging to his face. Thankfully, the Grindylows had chosen to help him instead of drown him. They quickly swam in front of him, sticking close to lead him down. When he reached the bottom he knew he wouldn't last much longer. He looked around rapidly, hoping to glimpse something of Arthur. There! A few feet away he could make out the silhouette of Arthur's cloak flowing with the current. He ripped through the water and over to him, reaching out and grabbing onto the cloak.

His heart was beating erratically in his ears as he pulled himself up to Arthur. He almost let go of the air he was holding when his eyes focused on the blurry form of Arthur. He could tell he wasn't breathing, that sent chills down Alfred's spine. He gathered Arthur in his arms, struggling with the added weight of Arthur's robes. He grunted, blowing out some bubbles in frustration. Quickly, he managed to shed Arthur of it, freeing up some of the weight. The Grindylows all pulled at Alfred's shirt, tugging him up. It helped since their numbers were many, but not by a whole lot. Alfred broke through the surface, gasping for breath. He coughed out some water and began clawing for the shore, Arthur strewn over his back like a sack of flour.

"Don't die on me Artie!" He yelled out, tearing through the water powerfully. He didn't even register where he was heading, his main focus was for land. He needed to make sure Arthur was ok, how long had he been under the water? What if it was too late?

Alfred shook his head vigorously, denying himself the thought. When he reached the bank he quickly slipped Arthur off his back and began dragging him further onto shore. He glanced up, seeing the Grindylows watching with wide eyes. Alfred dropped next to Arthur and began to smack his cheek in hopes to rouse him.

"Arthur. Arthur wake up, come on! Arthur!" He shouted. When it didn't seem to work the fear of Arthur dying settled coldly in the American's stomach. His breathing began to come in short gasps; he still had things he wanted to tell Arthur.

He wanted to tell him how he was sorry he had acted like a jerk and made him cry. How he had picked people over Arthur when that shouldn't have been an option. He regretted how he didn't even try and mend their relationship the entire second year. He missed their talks, how close they were, and how fun it was to spend time with the Brit. Alfred bit his lips, his hands beginning to shake.

"What do I do?" For once in his life, Alfred felt completely helpless. He didn't know any healing spells. Thinking about it, he left his wand in his robes. He groaned out and looked up at the sky, running out of options. "What am I supposed to do?" He yelled out.

Suddenly, he recalled something his mother had dragged him to. When he had gotten his acceptance letter she had taken him to a swimming class. She had gone to Hogwarts herself so she knew there was a lake; she also knew that Alfred would need to be a strong swimmer. At one of the lessons they had, it went over water safety and what to do if someone had drowned. He recalled what they had taught him and Alfred couldn't help the grin spreading over his face. They had taught him CPR!

Following the steps, Alfred bit his bottom lip and stared at Arthur's slightly parted lips. "T-this isn't a kiss. I'm simply being a hero." He stuttered out.

Behind him the Grindylows hissed impatiently and he flinched. He cleared his throat and nodded. "Right, sorry!"

Taking a deep breath, he pinched Arthur's nose and leaned over. He connected their lips and blew into Arthur's mouth. He then proceeded to push on his chest to get the blood flowing. Alfred continued to do this repeatedly, hoping he would get a sign soon. He tried to not think about how pale Arthur was or how cold his body was. He tried to ignore that Arthur's lips were a deathly blue and his body was stiff. He continued to give him CPR, growing desperate.

"Come on Artie!" He shouted between breaths. He bent down again and then sat up to press on his chest. "Artie!"

Suddenly those familiar jade green eyes snapped open, bursting with life. Arthur quickly sat up and coughed up the water filling his lungs. He wheezed for air, gulping it down like no tomorrow. He coughed between breaths and it gradually began to level out. He looked around wildly and his eyes locked onto Alfred, who was shivering in pure joy. He seemed to have been holding himself back from tackling Arthur to the ground, but his restraint was broken when Arthur had locked eyes on him. He knocked Arthur over, enveloping him in a tight hug. Behind him the Grindylows had erupted in cheers, all squealing happily to one another.

Arthur blinked, unsure of how to react. He tried to recall what had happened. He remembered Josh dropping him into the river and the mind numbing fear clawing at him. He remembered sinking like a rock and not being able to swim. The fear of him dying and no one but him, the Grindylows, and the Slytherin assholes knowing what happened. But why was Alfred here and why was he hugging him? Had Alfred saved him? But how did he know Arthur was drowning?

He suddenly realized the newfound wetness on his shoulder and neck was not from the lake, but from Alfred's tears. "Oh god, Artie! I thought you died! I didn't mean any of it! I'm so sorry! I was a big jerk and I know I deserve you ignoring me and everything! I shouldn't have picked them over you! I know that now and I'm seriously freaking sorry! Please, just don't ever do that again! I thought you were dead! You didn't wake up at first and I thought you weren't ever going to!"

Arthur stiffened, but smiled in spite of himself. Even though they hadn't talked for an entire year, Alfred was still secretly a cry baby. He was more of a child then one would think, which Arthur had always found endearing. He noticed his Grindylow friends looking at him worriedly, they looked unsure if Arthur was really alright. Arthur cleared his throat, wincing at the small pain it caused. He patted Alfred's back awkwardly, the American loosening up slightly.

"What's with the tears? I'm not dead yet!" Arthur croaked and tried to force a scowl but it didn't work. He gave a small smile, gently shoving Alfred away. "Idiot… how'd you even find me?"

Alfred perked up and whipped his face with one hand, pointing behind him at the Grindylows. "They showed me. I was really scared! But I was a hero and saved you! I even gave you CPR!" Alfred hesitated, realizing what he had just said. Arthur's cheeks gained some colour, turning a light pink. Alfred also followed suit and blushed, though his was darker.

"W-well it's not… a k-kiss…" Arthur mumbled out, coughing.

"Y-yeah! Kissing's gross." Alfred stood up, helping Arthur up.

"It only counts if it's with someone you like. Or if you're married." Arthur smiled, convincing himself more than Alfred.

"Or if you're dating!" Alfred added quickly.

"R-right." They quickly looked away and Arthur cleared his throat, it didn't hurt so much as before. He walked over to the edge of the water and smiled. "Thank you guys, if you hadn't told Alfred, I might've died."

They chittered happily and Arthur gave them a small smile.

"I'd hate to ask even more of you, but would you mind fetching my robe? It does have my wand in it." They nodded at him and disappeared back under the water.

Arthur looked up as Alfred groaned and ran a hand through his damp hair. "Ah, god sorry about that… it was weighing you down and I had to do something about it, that was kinda my only option. Sorry." He gave a sheepish smile.

Arthur returned the smile slightly, "Its fine. You jumped into a dangerous magical lake at the risk of your own life to just save mine."

Alfred shrugged, blushing in embarrassment. "I was only worried about you being ok… You'd have done the same for me." Alfred looked up quickly, worry clouding his eyes. "Wouldn't you?"

Arthur hesitated before giving him his rare, full smiles. "Yes Alfred, I would've."

Alfred's smile seemed to get brighter and he sighed in relief. "Awesome." He looked around and his eyes widened at the unfamiliar surroundings and the dense growth of trees surrounding them. "Oh crap…" He mumbled.

"What?"

"Artie…. I have no clue where we are." He looked at Arthur before going to the water's edge and wadding in.

"Where are you going?" Arthur followed him, making a point to stop where the water met dirt.

"Seeing if I can spot the docks," He stuck his tongue out in concentration before making a noise and pointing. "Found them! All the way over… there…" He trailed off.

"Seriously? Alfred, how the bloody hell did you manage to get all the way over here without noticing?" Arthur drew his eyebrows together and put his hands on his hips.

"I don't know! When I got to the surface I blocked everything else out and only focused on land. This was the spot I focused on so this is where I went." Alfred puffed out his cheeks, coming back to Arthur.

"Well I'm glad you did save me, believe me. But now we have two things to worry about." He frowned and looked up at the sky.

"What's that?"

"One, we're out in the forbidden forest. And two, the sun is setting." He pointed up to the full moon that was already scaling the sky.

Alfred paled and muttered a small, "oh."

Arthur looked down as his Grindylow friends surfaced, holding onto his robe. Arthur smiled at them, retrieving the cloth gratefully. "Thank you, I'll be sure to come back with an entire jar full of octopus for you guys! But for now, Alfred and I had better start making our way back to the school."

He waved goodbye to them before turning and taking Alfred's wrist, leading him towards the woods. Alfred watched them leave the shore with confusion. "Shouldn't we stay near the water? Isn't the forest dangerous at night?"

"Trust me Alfred; I know what I'm doing. It's better to go to a place where you can hide than being out in the open. This way we can make a small fire and dry our clothes." Arthur smiled, nodding in satisfaction.

"Oh I see… Well alright then!" Alfred ran forward, almost dragging Arthur with him.

"Wait Alfred, not so quickly!" He called after him in an attempt to slow him down.

"So, do you forgive me…?" Arthur hesitated in gathering up the twigs for their fire. He looked over his shoulder at Alfred, who had arranged rocks into a circle to contain the fire. He wasn't looking at Arthur; his gaze was fixated on the ground.

Arthur swallowed, thinking over his response carefully. On one hand he could tell Alfred yes, then they would return to being friends, wouldn't they? But then that would also mean that those two days he spent building up the defense around his heart would be broken. That would also mean that Alfred would have another chance to hurt him, Arthur didn't think he could walk away from that without damage. He bit his bottom lip harshly.

He could then say no, but then where would that leave them? Would they go back to pretending the other didn't exist? Would they forget about each other and then move on with their lives? Arthur swallowed again, no matter what he didn't want to forget Alfred. He had missed their talking so badly, the comfort he had around the boy, Alfred's eccentric personality, his overzealous way of doing things, his smile, and Arthur especially missed his eyes. He didn't want to forget Alfred, and he didn't want Alfred to forget him either. He concluded that the pang in his heart was just because he wanted his friendship back.

However, he couldn't let Alfred get away without repenting for awhile longer. "Well…" He started. He could see Alfred visibly perk up, waiting for his answer. "As much as I want to, I can't."

Alfred snapped his head up, his mood deflating. Arthur held up his hand before Alfred could say anything.

"Let me finish. I can't, but that doesn't mean I won't ever. I just can't forgive you at this moment. You'll have to earn my trust back Alfred."

The atmosphere around Alfred brightened considerably, and he gave a small grin. "I'll do my hardest. I promise Artie, I won't let you down again." He let out a small chuckle.

Arthur eyed him suspiciously, walking back over with the sticks. "What?"

"Nothing… it's just… you stopped calling me Alfred after our fight. You would only call me Jones, now you're calling me Alfred again. I like it." He smiled warmly at Arthur.

Arthur blushed and huffed, feigning annoyance. "As I recall, I also told you never to call me 'Artie' ever again. Yet you still insist upon it."

"I'll do it as many times as I want! It's your special nickname only **_I_**can use." He grinned at the Brit, causing him to blush even more.

Arthur stuttered, searching for words. He came up short and decided to just start up the fire. He set the twigs in a different pile and put some in the circle of rocks. He went to his drying cloak and pulled out his wand, casting the spell _incendio_. He winced as the spell worked, but the bands on his wrist began to burn. Alfred watched him curiously.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?" Arthur smiled and sat down next to him, sighing as the fire began to warm him up.

"No, I'm alright. It's just this blasted seal Vladimir had put on me." He pushed back his sleeves on each wrist to show Alfred. Alfred took his wrist with wide eyes, using the fire as light.

"What? Why would he do that?" Alfred asked, dumbfound.

"It's because I tend to 'splurge' when using my magic. This is supposed to be a limiter for me. It'll disappear when I learn to control my magic." He gave a soft smile. "That's why I was so busy after class. I was training with Vladimir to learn how to control my magic."

"Oh… wow…" Alfred breathed. "Hay, Artie?"

"Hm?" Arthur hummed, taking his arm back and wrapping it around his legs as he brought them to his chest. He hesitated before leaning on Alfred's shoulder.

They were leaning up against a large tree they found and deemed suitable for shelter, its large roots blocked off any oncoming attacks from the sides, which allowed them a good time to escape to a safer place. Below the roots, one could slip and also be safe there. Arthur and Alfred broth had agreed it would be the safest place to spend the night in.

"Did you ever go back? To the room of requirement, I mean…" Alfred mumbled.

Arthur blinked drowsily, glancing up at him through drooping lids. "To be honest, no, I didn't. I was too scared to; I didn't want to run into you. I didn't want another fight or to get hurt again." He sighed.

"Oh…. I went back. Though everyone wasn't keeping it a secret and they kept telling others. Pretty soon it wasn't even a secret anymore. So I might've changed the password for the room. When people tried to get in they couldn't for some reason. They told me about it and I lied to them saying that it was because the door had served its purpose and could no longer be used. I think it worked, seeing as how I didn't see anyone going to it anymore. My best bet is that they forgot." He smiled innocently.

Arthur didn't mask the surprise that lit up his eyes. "That's… actually pretty smart." He mumbled.

"Hay! I'm not as dumb as you'd like to think." He pouted, trying to seem offended. It failed however, when he cracked a grin and laughed. He nudged Arthur with his shoulder, smiling warmly down at him. "Dude I missed this… Why'd I have to be such a jerk?"

"Well it wasn't your entire fault, I was partially to blame. I acted like a spoiled brat, it shouldn't have mattered who you had brought into the room." Arthur sighed.

He grunted in displeasure when Alfred shifted so he could turn and stare Arthur completely in the face. "No, it should've mattered!"

Arthur watched him, startled. He was taken aback by the sudden seriousness taking a hold of Alfred's eyes; _it doesn't really suit him…_ Arthur thought to himself. He barely registered the crackling of the fire radiating next to him and the rustle of the leaves overhead.

"It was _our_ secret spot. I was insensitive and I should've known why you got pissed. They were making fun of you, at first I really wanted to believe it was simply a joke they were playing. I thought they'd kid around with you like they did with me, but it turns out they really meant what they said. I should've read the atmosphere and realized how rude they were."

Arthur smiled at that and snorted, "Well reading the atmosphere isn't exactly your forte."

"Artie!" He whined, "I'm being serious here!"

"Yes yes my apologies. Please, do continue." He chuckled, rolling his eyes.

"Anyways, when I tried to apologize all those times, you avoided me completely! Then when I purposefully put myself in places I knew you would go, you stopped going there. I admit it did take me awhile to figure out you were making sure you didn't run into me." Alfred looked a little sad at that. "I really didn't mean to hurt you Arthur. I know it took me way too long to apologize to you. I just really didn't know how to. I kept telling myself that it was you who needed to apologize and that I did nothing wrong. I mean, now that I think about it, I did say some nasty things…"

"Alfred…" Arthur drew his brows together, swallowing hard. _No… he's breaking down my wall. I can't just forgive him like that… but… it has been a year already, almost two, right?_

"But I didn't apologize. I figured you'd want to be the gentleman and say sorry. I mean, that's why you came to my games right? Well, I figured that's why you came to them anyways." He shrugged, smiling lightly.

Arthur's eyes widened and the colour drained from his face. "W-what? How did you know that I went to your games…?"

"Hm? Well it was really obvious, you sitting in the stands and all." Alfred looked confused.

Arthur's face exploded in a blush, he was silently glad the darkness and the fire helped conceal it. "I-I went for only the Slytherin games!"

"Well yeah, but then you came to my other games too. Even when it wasn't Slytherin, you were there." He sent Arthur a cheesy grin.

"Wuh-ha- I did-," He stuttered for a response. "H-how did you know it was me? It could've been anyone!"

"Yeah right! I know your eyebrows anywhere." He snorted at the flustered Brit.

"You couldn't have noticed them-er… me! You couldn't have noticed me while you were up flying high in the bloody sky! I'm surprised you even had the time to look at the people in the crowd! How on earth could you possibly know I was there?" Arthur was slowly raising his voice in his attempt to find excuses and reasons as to why it wasn't him.

"Well…" Alfred suddenly grabbed Arthur's face between his hands, bringing the Brit's eyes up to look at him. Arthur's heart began to speed up as he was lost in those blue depths. He unconsciously ran his tongue along his lips to moisten them. Alfred looked into his swirling green eyes before continuing. "When I was up in the air it was hard to see and pick out people. But your eyes would always be trained on me so it wasn't hard to find you. They stand out you know? They're a really beautiful green, I've always liked them. When I did look into the crowd it was like I would always be drawn to your eyes. They really… captivate me…"

_Either he's taking lessons from Francis on how to sweet talk a person or he got fucking smoother since we last talked._ Arthur was internally screaming as he could feel Alfred gently tug at his face, slowly drawing him closer. He sucked in a wild breath, his heart hammering against his rips so painfully. Arthur was positive it would burst out of his chest in a panic if Alfred got any closer. When the boy also started to lean in, Arthur felt his breathing stop.

Suddenly, there was the sound of twigs snapping not far off. Arthur quickly turned his head to the sound, breaking off Alfred's grip. Alfred opened his mouth to whine out a protest, but a hand was quickly slapped over his lips.

"Shush. Alfred, do you hear that?" He hissed. Arthur's eyes darted back and forth at the darkness that surrounded them.

Alfred mumbled something out. He grunted and removed Arthur's hand from his mouth. "I don't hear anythi-" There was another snap and Alfred's sentence quickly died in his throat. He looked around wildly, his blue eyes widening behind his glasses.

The bushes shifted and Alfred quickly latched his hand onto Arthur's sleeve. Arthur swallowed, patting his hand gently. "D-don't worry, I'm sure it's just a rabbit?"

"Are you asking me or telling me?" Alfred whimpered out.

Arthur bit his lip and didn't respond. His heart leapt into his throat when they heard the distinct low growl. The bushes moved and the large form walked towards them, its shoulders hunched and its neck slightly elongated. Arthur paled and his hand began to shake slightly. Alfred let out a gasp and he quickly shook Arthur's arm, his gaze not leaving the creature moving closer. The light of the fire soon bathed the form in light, giving Arthur and Alfred a clear view of it.

The hairs on the back of Arthur's neck stood up and he weakly whispered out, "Werewolf…"

The werewolf snarled at them, its lips curled back to reveal sharp teeth. Alfred paled and a cold shiver ran up his spine. "H-hay Alfred? Didn't the professors say we had werewolves in the forest?"

"Y-yeah… but I always thought they were telling us that to keep us out." His eyes were glued to the sleek form standing in front of them; their only separation was the fire.

"M-me too."

The werewolf growled and dropped to all fours, moving around the fire slowly and threateningly. Arthur searched the ground around him for his wand, keeping his eyes on the creature.

"A-alfred… When I say run, you have to run ok? I'll distract it and then follow shortly." Arthur found it and his hand gripped tightly on it. They were slowly inching the opposite way the werewolf was coming.

"What? I'm not gonna leave you here to defend yourself against a fucking werewolf!" Alfred hissed at him, stealing a quickly glance at the blond.

"Alfred!" He hissed back.

"No, either we go together or we don't go at all!" Alfred grabbed Arthur's free hand tightly.

"Idiot! Not going _isn't _an option we have the pleasure of right now!" He murmured back. Looking at Alfred from the corner of his eye made Arthur realize he was serious. He grinded his teeth together, their limited amount of time quickly running out. "Ok fine! I'll use _Bombarda, _and then we run like hells on our heels. Is that clear?"

"Hell _will_ be at our heels Artie, but yeah. I got it. Ready?"

As if aware to their plans, the werewolf growled and then bolted towards them. Arthur had a late reaction but thankfully, Alfred caught him just in time. He yanked the Brit up and began running, the werewolf's teeth barely missing Arthur. Arthur looked over his shoulder and help up his wand, taking a deep breath. "_Bombarda!"_

The shot hit right next to the fire, exploding it and causing some hot wood pieces with fire still on them to get thrown all around. Arthur yelped when one hit the back of his head but he kept running, hearing the werewolf scream in pain. Alfred continued to blindly lead them through the forest, making turns after every 5 trees they passed. Arthur was beginning to think they had lost the werewolf, when behind them was the long, loud howl of said creature. Sending a quick glance over his shoulder at Arthur, Alfred and he both knew the chase was on.

They continued to run even when their legs threatened to give out. Arthur was panting harshly, not used to so much crazy exercise. "Come on Arthur! Keep up!" Alfred threw out over his shoulder.

"I-I'm… trying!" He gasped out.

Behind them they could hear the beast gaining on them, its snarling easily picked out. The entire forest had grown silent, each creature inhabiting it all listening in on the chase, waiting to see if the young wizards survived or not. Alfred's grip on Arthur was tight as he dragged the Brit blindly through the forest. For all they knew they might've been going even deeper into the woods, but right now they didn't particularly care.

Alfred leapt over a tree root, seeming to expect Arthur to follow suit. The Brit however, had been looking over his shoulder at the approaching werewolf that was quickly gaining up. He was yanked out of Alfred's grip as he fell to the floor, having tripped over the root. Alfred skidded to a halt at the loss of weight in his hand. He whipped around, his eyes dancing wildly.

"Arthur!" He cried out.

Arthur flopped around and landed on his back. He pushed himself up on his elbows and slid back, trying to scoot backwards as fast as he could. Arthur screamed as the werewolf leapt at him, its jaws parted. In a flash Alfred had ran past the fallen boy and had met at the werewolf head on. They clashed together and Arthur paled as Alfred let out a harsh cry of pain. He watched in horror as the werewolf bit into Alfred's shoulder.

"Alfred!" Arthur shrieked.

"Artie… run!" Alfred shouted.

Arthur watched the werewolf fling Alfred to the side, the boy hitting a tree like a rag doll and dropping to the ground. Arthur let out another cry of disbelief and horror, looking back up at the werewolf. The werewolf snarled at him, its fangs glittering in the moonlight that filtered through the trees. Arthur stole another quick glance at Alfred's limp body before his grip on his wand tightened.

He raised it and shouted, "Get back!" He flicked his wand and shouted out a spell. "_Everte Statum!" _The werewolf was thrown back by the spell. It hit the floor and rolled backwards before it scrambled to get its footing. By then Arthur was standing with a dark expression crossing his face. He stepped over the accursed root and raised his wand again. The werewolf snarled in response and Arthur glared it down.

The werewolf charged forward and Arthur threw a spell. The ground in front of the werewolf exploded and it screeched to a stop. It changed its route to run at Arthur, but he was already shooting his next spell.

"Go away!" Arthur screamed at it. The werewolf snarled and made a move to attack again. Arthur raised his hand not holding the wand and opened the palm. He pointed it at the werewolf and screeched out at it once again. "I said, _leave_!"

Suddenly a light green hue glowed in the palm of Arthur's hand. In front of the werewolf appeared a light green circle with a pentagram in the center. It glowed ominously and threateningly. The werewolf growled, saliva and blood dripping from its jaws. It ran forward and jumped, trying to head butt the sign floating in the air. There was a blast of white and green electricity and the werewolf yelped as it was thrown back with extreme force. It let out a small growl and it made to stand. Glaring at Arthur it howled in anger, getting up on all fours to charge again.

Arthur raised his wand and cast the spell _Bombarda _inches in front of it. It leapt back and let out a high pitched noise, taking a few steps back. Arthur yet again raised his hand that did not hold his wand. A flame was produced from his hand and it floated inches above his skin, lighting up the features on his face. His eyes were cold and his lips were set into a deep frown. He parted his lips, glaring heartlessly at it.

"If you do not leave, I will not show you mercy. This I can promise you." His voice was like ice.

The werewolf let out a growl, slowly lowering itself onto the ground. Its wolf instincts must've chimed in, telling the creature that the figure in front of it was growing alarmingly dangerous by the second. It let out a whine followed by a quick snarl before it backed away slowly. Arthur watched it leave, not moving until it was far from his sight. The moon helped him see even as his flame went out. Turning sharply to look at Alfred's body he took one step, then another. He quickly broke out in a run and crashed to his knees near Alfred's body. He dropped his wand and reached out for the boy, hesitating.

The hairs on his arms rose and a sudden fear weighed down his stomach, was Alfred breathing? He bit his bottom lip and attempted to turn over the American. He managed to do so and tried not to cry out at the sight. Blood was dripping from the large wound and was splattered on his face and staining the white on his neck collar. A lump formed in Arthur's throat and he reached out a tentative hand, holding it over his face. Some of the weight lifted off his shoulders when he could feel him breath. He touched his shoulder, trying to ignore all the blood.

"A-Alfred. Come on, wake up. I-it's gone. I chased the werewolf away, we're safe now." He whispered, his throat clenching when he got no response. "Alfred, wake up." He whispered again. He began to grow panicked, his hands starting to shake violently. "A-Alfred! Please, Alfred, wake up! Alfred!" He choked out, his eyes watering.

He lifted up Alfred's head, setting it on his lap. He looked around for someone or something to help the dying boy. "Please, help! Someone! Please someone help me! He's going to die! Someone! Is there anyone? Please!" He cried out, stifling a sob. He continued to scream for help before looking down at Alfred. He leaned over, hugging Alfred in his arms gently.

"I'm so sorry Alfred. I can't heal you! It's a werewolf bite, only silver closes up a bite from a werewolf. I don't have any silver. I'm sorry Alfred, this is my fault." He sobbed pitifully. "I should've listened to you when you said we should stay by the shore! We could've run into the water, my Grindylow friends would've protected us if anything tried to get in the water after us. But I was being a bloody tosser, I thought I was the right one and you were in the wrong. You're dying and it's my entire fault!" He wailed.

"I'm sorry, I'm fucking sorry Alfred. Please don't die! Please! I forgive you; I take back any harsh thing I said! Just please Alfred, please don't die! You can't die!" He continued to cry, pulling his head away to sniff and choke on a sob. "You daft oaf, you just had to be the damn hero. You couldn't have just left me? Damn you for risking your life over me! Alfred, why the hell would you do something so stupid? Were you not thinking at all?" He cried.

Looking down at Alfred's face, he watched his tears land on his cheeks and run into the blood, causing a red streak to go down the side of his face. Swallowing hard Arthur gently laid his head back on the ground. "No. You can't die. Not like this, I won't allow it!" Arthur stood up and whipped his cheeks with his hands, smearing Alfred's blood on them. He didn't notice the blood staining his body, courtesy of Alfred. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, biting his bottom lip harshly.

"Please, something that can help us. I ask you to come to our aid, please. My friend is dying, I need help." Arthur reached out with his _sight_, feeling the pull it gave him. He let his mind search the woods for a creature that would help them. He snapped his eyes open and stumbled back with a gasp.

Something had looked at him through his ability; usually it was the other way around. However this time a creature had looked into Arthur's heart. It happened quickly but he still could feel it. He could feel the eyes searching his heart, his very soul. He swallowed; _I just hope it isn't something dangerous. I don't think I can pull another stunt like I did with the werewolf, I'm already so tired…_

Arthur jumped when he heard the bushes shift and twigs snapping. He held up his wand, struggling to appear threatening.

"Who goes there? I warn you, I'm stronger than I look! One wrong move and I promise you I won't go easy!" He winced as his voice cracked.

The moonlight aided in helping him spot the creature move out from the shadows of the trees. His breath caught in his throat and his eyes widened to the size of saucers. He watched as the Granian Pegasus clop into sight. It tilted its gray muzzle and shook its head, neighing. Arthur felt himself slide to the ground in relief.

"Oh thank heavens…" Suddenly he remembered Alfred was bleeding out right next to him. He shot up and looked at the Pegasus with pleading eyes. "Please! You must help us, my friend, he's dying. I need to take him back to Hogwarts quickly! Please help me!" Tears threatened to spill over again.

The Pegasus watched him for a few agonizing heart beats before it moved forward. It neighed at Arthur and he felt pure joy well up inside of him. The magnificent creature had communicated with him and had said it would help. It settled next to Alfred, waiting for the Brit to pull his friend on. After much struggle, he and Alfred and were both on the winged-horse. Arthur had Alfred sitting in front of him with his head resting on Arthur's chest. His breathing was now shallow, scaring the Brit even further. He gripped the horse's hair with both hands, his wand also clenched tightly in one of his fists.

"Now please, hurry!" He shouted.

The horse hastily stood up and took off running. It leapt over bushes and roots, aiming for the small clearing up ahead. It spread out its large silver wings, flapping them a couple times. When they broke through into the part of the woods devoid of trees the horse flapped even harder. Arthur would be lying if he said he wasn't thrilled to be riding a Pegasus. He was clearly ecstatic; this might be the only chance he could. He just wished that Alfred was awake to enjoy this moment with him.

The horse took off into the air and scaled higher and higher. Its wings flapped in a steady rhythm, it appeared to be running on the air. They were moving rather quickly since Granian Pegasus's were one of the fastest of the winged-horses. He hunched over Alfred, holding him tightly. His heart was pounding and the blood was pumping violently in his ears. Arthur could feel his heart clenching whenever he looked down at Alfred, so he continued to look forward.

He could see the school coming closer and closer, soon they were landing on the front steps. The grounds keeper, who was walking in the courtyard, fell back with a scream when the large horse landed in front of him. He only then noticed the two occupants sitting atop it.

"Quickly! We need to go to the nurse's office!" Arthur told the horse. It nickered in response and charged forward, running up the steps quickly. It reared back after telling Arthur to hold on. Arthur let out a slight grunt of surprise and held onto both the horse's mane and Alfred. It flapped its wings and slammed its front hooves down on the front doors. This repeated for a good minute, the horse adding more force with each slam. Soon the great force was enough to blast them off their hinges. They hit the wall with a bam, clattering to the floor. The Pegasus ran in, following Arthur's directions.

"Down this way, now left!" Arthur shouted out orders. They passed by a hall that was being patrolled by two head's of the Slytherin house. Gilbert quickly yanked the girl back so she wouldn't get trampled by the creature.

"What the fuck?" He shouted. He looked down the hall at the form and noticed the familiar mop of unruly blond hair. "Holy shit, Arthur?" He looked back at the girl. "Go get the head master, quickly!" He didn't wait for her to respond as he sprinted after the winged beast.

Arthur hadn't noticed them passing Gilbert, nor did ne notice that they were being tailed. His main focus was Alfred, the blond who looked sickly pale in his arms. The horse skidded to a stop in front of the infirmary doors, it reared up again and busted down the door. It opened quickly; the horse had not used as much force so they only swung open and slammed against the sides of the wall.

The kids who were lying asleep in the beds were jolted awake. The ones that could sit up did, those that could not simply turned their heads to look at the door. A girl must've screamed when the winged beast ran past her bed, because suddenly the still sleeping patients were all awake. It stopped in front of an unoccupied bed and Arthur quickly leapt off. He stumped a bit before pulling back the covers.

"Here! Lay him down here!" Arthur watched the Pegasus move around to the side of the bed. Arthur helped Alfred slide down the side of it and onto the bed. He quickly ran to the tools that were always put beside each bed. He tossed the unneeded ones to the ground and grabbed a pair of silver tweezers.

"This might hurt Alfred, but please bear with it." He took a deep breath and held it as he pressed the silver to the wound. Alfred's eyes instantly opened and he gasped, letting out a loud scream of pain. He began thrashing just as the nurse ran in still dressed in her nightwear. She gasped and almost fainted at the sight of the Pegasus. Gilbert shoved past her and ran to the side of the bed, his eyes widening at the screaming form.

"What the hell happened?" He yelled.

"It doesn't matter! Just hold him down so I can close the wound!" Arthur cried. The Pegasus stood behind Arthur, acting as support while Gilbert struggled to pin down Alfred's arms.

The nurse then chose to help; she pinned down Alfred's legs and allowed the Brit to work. He continued to press the silver along the wound, sealing it all up slowly. Alfred continued to scream and thrash about in pain, tears streaming down his eyes at the sheer agony he was in.

"I'm almost done Alfred! Just hold on! Please!" He tried to sound soothing, but the panic in his voice prevented it.

Soon the wound was fully sealed and by then almost everyone in the school was awake. The teachers were rushing to figure out where the screams were coming from, their commotion caused students to rise. Soon it was a chain reaction, by the time Vladimir made it into the nurse's office, Germania and Ivan were trying to keep the awakened students back. Romulus was also present; he was trying to calm down the panicked kids in the infirmary.

Arthur, Gilbert, and the nurse were breathing hard from the effort of holding the boy down. Arthur dropped the bloody tool and it clattered to the ground. He watched Alfred go limp, passing out from the pain. Arthur's hands began to shake and he quickly turned around, hugging the horse's neck tightly. He choked back a sob when the horse nudged his head with its snout and nickered. Vladimir went to Arthur's side, looking down at Alfred then at Arthur. He grabbed the boy by his shoulders, fear in his wide red eyes.

He turned him around and searched his face, holding it between his hands. "Arthur, are you alright? What happened? We were told that you had fallen in the lake and Alfred went to save you. When we went to the docks you were nowhere to be found! I sent out search parties! I even sent out my bats to find you guys in the dark! What on earth happened Arthur?"

Arthur's eyes welled up even more and he threw himself on the Headmaster, sobbing into his shirt. "It was horrible! I-I was going to die, but Alfred saved me! Then it attacked him and…" He cried loudly and Vladimir quickly hugged the scared boy. He looked up at the Pegasus then at Germania.

"Please take the Pegasus to the stables and have it fed and watered. We'll let it go in the morning." The horse neighed and moved towards Germania as if it understood. It stopped next to Arthur before briefly nudging his head. It snorted then followed as Germania led it out. Vladimir then turned to Gilbert and the nurse.

"Nurse Erika, please tend to Alfred. He appears to have lost a lot of blood." He let go of Arthur and took his hand, leading the still crying Brit away. "Gilbert, I'd like for you to come with me, bring Allistor with you. Ivan, you and Romulus also come with me."

They all nodded and followed, Gilbert slipping off to grab the Gryffindor head. Before they left Ivan sternly told the students gathered around that if they didn't leave then they would have four hours of detention with him for the next week. They quickly scattered back to their houses, all gossiping about what might've happened.

Arthur was numbly aware of being led to Vladimir's office. He was then put in a seat and was offered some tea after a few minutes. Arthur held the warm mug and stared down at it, he made no move to drink though. After awhile Gilbert came in with Allistor, the male head of the Gryffindor house. Arthur would've been surprised; he had forgotten that his brother was the head. Allistor was made the head of the Gryffindor house because of complications even though he is in his 6th year and not his 7th year. He had always pretended it wasn't a big deal and had brushed off the fact so nonchalantly. Arthur had also treated it like it was unimportant and had instinctively forgotten all about it.

Allistor's eyes locked onto Arthur, who had blood on his person, his green eyes widened. He rushed to his brother's side and dropped in front of him, gripping his shoulders so gently as if his brother would blow away with too much force. He looked into his brother's eyes which were somber and dull.

"Oi, Arthur. Arthur what happened." He whispered.

"Hay, tree snake, seriously man what happened?" Gilbert squatted down next to Arthur, watching him with worried eyes.

Vladimir cleared his throat and the two men looked up, they both shared a look before standing. They stood on either side of Arthur, not daring to leave his side.

"Arthur, I'd like for you to tell me what happened. Can you do that?" Vladimir spoke softly, sending a glance to Romulus and Ivan. Their eyes were trained on Arthur, waiting for him to answer.

For what seemed like hours, Arthur kept quiet. When Vladimir opened his mouth to ask again, Arthur had beaten him to the punch. "I was sitting at the docks."

Everyone looked at Arthur, all eager to hear the story. "Ever since my first year I would go there, it was because I had made friends there. I have the _sight_, making friends with magical creatures tends to be easy. I made friends with Grindylows. I was feeding them the octopus that I bought for them over the summer. I did that every three days, they really like the octopus." He gave a humorless smile.

Allistor watched his brother, his expression serious. He had known his brother had the _sight_, he also knew that he had magical friends. He had been able to see them himself when he was a kid, but he had lost that ability. Now he could only see a few things, not as much as he'd like, but he could still see. He had also been aware of Arthur buying the octopus for something; he would never have figured it was for Grindylows.

"I've been getting bullied since the second year. I figured it wasn't much of a problem; it was only name calling and such. But today it escalated. I don't even recall what happened clearly, all I knew was that I snapped and socked that bloke Josh in the face." Arthur sniffed and whipped his nose with his sleeve.

Rage boiled in the pit of Allistor and Gilbert's stomach. Gilbert hissed, "Josh? What the fuck… he's the Slytherin perfect! He's the dick who's been bullying you? What the hell? Why didn't you say anything Arthur?"

"What?" Vladimir quickly looked at Ivan who nodded slowly, a cold frown on his face.

"Da, he is right. Josh is the house perfect for Slytherin."

Allistor growled, "That bastard. I knew he was trouble, I'm gonna kick his arse bloody!"

"Silence please!" Vladimir snapped at him, shutting the Gryffindor up. "Arthur, who else had been involved in the bullying?"

Arthur hesitated, "Edith, Addison, Josh, and Jake." He bit his bottom lip and continued on with his story. "Anyways, then Josh threatened to toss me into the lake. I didn't back down like I should've. So I spit in his face."

Allistor and Gilbert tried to hide a snort of amusement. They were given a sharp look by Romulus. Gilbert whistled innocently, looking around the room. Ivan looked amused while Vladimir remained neutral.

"Anyways, so they dropped me in the lake."

"But you didn't try to swim?" Romulus drew his eyebrows together, looking confused.

"I did, but you see-" He was cut off by Allistor.

"Arthur can't swim. When he was a kid he fell into the lake behind our house. He almost drowned but was miraculously saved. He's then been afraid to swim so he doesn't know how. He sinks like a weight in the water, goes straight down." Arthur would've snapped at him, but seeing the angry expression his brother was carrying kept the words in his throat.

"Thank you Allistor." Vladimir nodded then looked at Arthur. "Continue please."

Arthur licked his lips and then took a sip of the tea. "Well, I remember my Grindylow friends trying to help me swim. But I couldn't do it; they also couldn't lift me up. So I ended up on the bottom of the lake, I then passed out. Apparently they somehow found Alfred and told him what had happened, well, tried to. He found me though, and saved me. He pulled me ashore at the edge of the dark forest. We were rather far from the docks so we couldn't exactly _swim_ back."

"So we camped in the forest under a tree that protected us on either side and with roots we could hide under… Now that I think about it, we could've used those roots. I guess we forgot about it in the heat of the moment? I also left my coat behind, how disappointing." He chuckled lightly. He looked back down at his tea. "We were talking when it all happened." He ignored the fact that their talking had almost led to a kiss.

"Something came out of the woods, we thought the professors lied about it but we were wrong. Werewolves do live in the forest, and we meet one."

Vladimir stood up sharply in his seat and his eyes narrowed. "Arthur, are you saying the thing that attacked Alfred and you was a werewolf?"

Everyone looked at him with wide eyes, looking between Vladimir and then back at Arthur. The Brit nodded slowly, swallowing hard. "I told him to run while I distracted it. The bloody fool insisted we run together. So we did. I used a spell to keep it at bay and we ran. I think I tripped over a root or something, but I turned around and the thing was jumping right at me." His voice began to shake and new tears sprang up in his eyes.

"That damn fool tried to be a hero. He jumped in the way of it and it bit him. It tossed him to the side like a sack of flour! T-then it all happened so quickly. I think I used too much magic though, but it was worth it. It ran away in the end…. But the blood..." His shoulders began to shake softly. "There was so much blood. I thought Alfred was going to die; I couldn't do anything to heal him. He would've ended up bleeding out; I had no silver to close the wound."

"Silver? What's that gonna do against a werewolf bite?" Gilbert questioned.

"A werewolf won't be harmed by simple silver." Ivan explained. "Silver can, however, heal a werewolf bite and seal it up. But the problem is the bite itself. When a person who is bitten by a werewolf get's the werewolf saliva mixed in with their blood, a reaction happens. They gain the werewolf curse themselves."

Arthur paled even further and looked at the teacher, his pupils shaking. "So you're saying that… Alfred… he's…?"

"I'm afraid so. Mister Jones is most likely infected with the werewolf saliva and he himself will become a werewolf." The professor confirmed Arthur's unasked question.

"What?" Allistor shouted.

"That's crazy! Then what the hell are we supposed to do?" Gilbert asked Vladimir.

The Headmaster looked deep in thought, his face grim. Arthur suddenly realized something, being a werewolf prevented many people from gaining a job in the wizarding world. Quidditch was one of those jobs werewolves were not allowed in.

"Hold on a second! Vladimir-er…. Headmaster, you can't tell Alfred's parents or anyone else! Please! It would destroy his chances of playing Quidditch and any other job he might think of seeking in the future! We can't let anyone else know! Please! It's my entire fault, I'll take responsibility! Just please don't tell!" Tears threatened to spill from Arthur's eyes, but he held them back.

"Arthur," Vladimir started, sounding tired. "Not reporting something like this to the Ministry of Magic is very dangerous. I could lose my position as Headmaster, I might even be sent to Azkaban."

"Please. You can pretend you didn't know anything about it! I'll take the blame if they find out! Please, I can't do this to Alfred. He saved me; I can't let his stupid heroic actions cost him his future! Quidditch is everything to him! I can't let it be taken away just like that!" Arthur's voice quivered.

"Vladimir, if I may add something." Ivan held up a hand, his creepy smile present.

"Yes Ivan, what is it?" Vladimir sighed.

"In the situation of him transforming into a werewolf, there are ways for him to keep his head. The Wolfsbane Potion can allow him to have his human mind while he is in werewolf form. Plus, if I am not mistaken, Arthur and Alfred both know where the room of requirement is. They could sit out Alfred's transformation there couldn't they?"

Vladimir blinked thoughtfully but frowned slightly. "That could work, but Wolfsbane is rather difficult to make. Romulus, do you think you could make it?"

Romulus grinned, holding a thumbs up to the Headmaster. "Leave it to me! I can make enough Wolfsbane to last him a lifetime."

"Well…. If that settles it then there is another matter I'd like to discuss. Arthur, hold out your wrists for me." Vladimir looked back at Arthur.

Arthur hesitated before pushing up his sleeves and holding out his wrists. The black markings around them had turned a tinted red; blood was slowly seeping out of the markings. Gilbert and Romulus gasped, Allistor's eyes grew wide.

"What the hell is this?" Allistor yelled, looking at Vladimir for an explanation.

"I see… Romulus, escort Arthur to Germania's room. I want him to clean his wounds and bandage him up, also have him renew the seal." Vladimir ignored Allistor's outburst.

"Now wait a second! What seal?" His voice was beginning to rise.

"Allistor Kirkland, I will explain to you Arthur's situation in due time. Till then please contain yourself!" Vladimir snapped. Romulus helped Arthur stand, setting the cup down on Vladimir's desk. "Another thing before you leave, Romulus."

The professor smiled and turned around. "Yes?"

"Anything we have said in here is to not be discussed with anyone who is not present at this moment. Am I understood? If we are to keep Alfred being a werewolf a secret, then it cannot be spread around. Arthur, if anyone asks what attacked Alfred, tell them it was something else. You can think of anything as long as it isn't too extreme."

Arthur nodded along with everyone else. Vladimir looked out the house head's clearing his throat. "Now, I will discuss the rest with Arthur tomorrow. Ivan, he is allowed to be dismissed from his classes tomorrow. Romulus, Alfred is also dismissed until he recovers."

The professors that were the head of the houses nodded. Romulus led Arthur out of the room, letting them continue the conversation without the Brit.

"Tomorrow I will give Gilbert a letter; they are to be specifically given to Josh, Edith, Jake, and Addison. Allistor, you are not allowed to touch them, nor are your brothers allowed to. I will handle their punishment, I promise you. Refrain from telling them about Arthur's seal and everything else we've discussed here. I will also summon you tomorrow and explain about Arthur's seal."

Allistor reluctantly nodded and Vladimir continued. "Now then, Gilbert, Allistor, you both will be required to keep an eye on Alfred and Arthur. They are to report to Romulus the day before the full moon's for the Wolfsbane, then they will go directly to the Room of Requirement on the day of the full moon. I will set up Romulus and Ivan as guards on those days to make sure no wondering student is there. Alfred and Arthur will be given their dinner there. Any questions so far?"

"Yes sir, what will we do about the summer?" Allistor frowned.

Vladimir shared his frown and hummed. "I have yet to think of that… hm… We'll discuss that later. Right now I think it's time we all sleep. It's been a long day." He stood up, waving his hand in dismissal. Allistor and Gilbert both shared a look before nodding, they excused themselves and left, Ivan soon following after.

* * *

A/N: Mmmm i don't really have much to say for this one. I'm thinking of how much longer i'd want this to go. Don't worry i will continue it. I'll be sure to finish it before I start the Alpha and Omega UsUk fanfic. : Hopefully it also get's positive feedback. I've been editing the last few stories myself, i guess i wanted to post them quickly. ^^" Sorry for some mistakes you might see in my writing, i hope there isn't many. This actually was finished pretty quickly, i started on Saturday and finished Sunday, i only edited it all today. Thank you for your reviews, i love reading every single one of them! They keep me inspired to write! Please keep them coming, I love hearing how you think the story is going so far.


	7. Chapter 7

There was so much blood.

It seemed to be pooling out nonstop. No matter what the frightened boy tried, he couldn't stop it. He watched as the life drained from those blue eyes, the light they had disappearing forever. He felt his hands go numb and the cold reality creep up his spine.

Alfred was dead and it was his entire fault.

Arthur woke up with a breathless gasp, looking around the room frantically. He swallowed, whipping the sweat off his brow. He licked his dry lips, sliding out of his bed and standing on shaky legs. He grabbed his house coat and slipped it on his shoulders, jumping in his night slippers before grabbing his wand and moving to the door. He glanced back over his shoulder at the two other occupied beds, the forms sleeping in them appeared undisturbed.

This was the third time in a row since he had dreamt of Alfred's death this night; he had had the same reoccurring dream for the past week. The first time had been right after the incident, Gilbert and Antonio were the ones who made it to his room first, they had panicked and had busted into his room in their pajamas.

They didn't laugh at him for having a nightmare; in fact, they willingly stayed with him till he fell back asleep. Antonio stayed even though he had no clue as to why Arthur and Alfred had gotten bloody, beaten, and bruised, but he didn't bother to ask. He simply petted Arthur's hair soothingly while Gilbert told him a story. It was about someone from the Teutonic knights. Gilbert said he was the, how he put it, "most awesomest and bravest knight anyone had ever seen".

It was a rather nice story; it was more amusing than serious. In no time Arthur had fallen asleep and was blissfully unaware of the world. Though Gilbert and Antonio had left, they had soon returned when Arthur woke up screaming three hours later. After the second day of little sleep, they refused to leave his side after that, having moved into the extra beds so they wouldn't have to run from their rooms. It proved to be a rather smart thing, Arthur didn't wake up screaming as often, but he still slept awfully.

He had been to see Alfred every free chance he got, but had always left feeling worse and worse. Alfred still looked sickly pale, his eyes sunken and his hands cold. He had broken out in a fever on more than one account, his temperature rising to a scalding heat. Alfred had not woken up for long periods of time. When he did he would only be awake for a minute or two before he fell back into a deep slumber. This continued on for 6 long days.

It wasn't just Arthur who visited during the time Alfred was in the infirmary. Francis, Matthew, Kiku, Gilbert, Antonio, even Arthur's brothers, and some Gryffindor students visited. Though the Gryffindor students disliked it when Arthur was there, on more than one account they would all take turns throwing insults at the Brit. They all seemed to have agreed that it was Arthur who put Alfred there. It was a new form of insults every day; some had even tried to kick Arthur out by force. It proved to be the wrong move when Gilbert had witnessed them dragging Arthur to the door. Gilbert than made sure either he, Antonio, or one of Arthur's brothers, went with him for every visit.

_"It's all your fault he's like this! He should have never acted friendly to you. You're the curse of Slytherin, not his friend. Don't think that even for a minute!" Lilly had hissed at him._

_"Why are you even here? You don't have the right to be sitting next to Alfred. It's because of you he's laying there. You should be the one there, not him." Jessica had snarled._

_"Snakes can't be trusted. I bet it was your entire plan to have him get hurt instead of you." One of the males had said while poking a finger into Arthur's chest._

_"You pushed him in front of the creature that attacked you, didn't you? You tried to save your own skin and now you feel guilty about it!" Tom glared daggers at him._

While all the insults and harsh words had been pointed at him, he had paid them no attention. When he was in the infirmary, his main focus was Alfred. He didn't leave his side at all unless the nurse shooed him off or until Gilbert came to drag him to dinner or to bed. Though, even then Gilbert would have to carry the Brit out.

The first few times Arthur had refused to even leave the seat. When he had clung onto it as Gilbert dragged them both across the infirmary, the German had learned that carrying Arthur was the best option. So he had begun to carry Arthur over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Arthur had struggled the first few times, though after a while, he learned to simply let Gilbert do what he wanted.

Arthur bit his lip and opened the door as quietly as he could, sneaking out and closing it behind him. He ran into the common room and towards the entrance. He moved as quickly and as silently as he could, jumping at every small noise. The shadows looked menacing to the boy; every small sound sent jolts throughout his body and made his heart scream in fright. Arthur had made this trip two times before. He had woken up from a nightmare and had not been able to go back to bed. So instead of lying in his bed counting the seconds tic by, he went to the infirmary.

He had learned that the nurse's room was right next it, but she only came in at night whenever a patient required frequent attention. Alfred had been one of them for the first three days, but after the fourth day he had begun to stable out. Arthur still felt depressed and guilty whenever he visited the American, he was always sleeping and not once had he woken up when Arthur was there.

Vladimir had told Alfred's family that he had gotten in an accident in Quidditch, but that he was fine and they need not worry. When Matthew, Francis, and Kiku all questioned what had attacked them, Arthur had not been able to respond. He would look panicked and had always paled when remembering it all. His friends soon understood that the subject was not to be mentioned around him. Francis had done the honors telling Antonio and Gilbert that, Arthur was silently grateful.

Arthur made it to the infirmary without incident, making his way to the occupied bed in the far back. He swallowed and pulled up a chair next to the bed. He sat down and glanced over Alfred's sleeping form. He put a hand to his heart, scolding it for beating so erratically. _He's fine stupid, he's not dead. He's alive and breathing, can't you see that? There is no need to freak out like you're off your trolley. _He tried to tell himself.

Arthur watched Alfred sleep peacefully, he looked better than he did the last time Arthur was here. Arthur bit his bottom lip and reached out his hand, brushing it against Alfred's cheek. He let out a sigh and gave a small tired smile. He could feel his heart beat start to slow down; glad for the physical reassurance that Alfred was fine. Arthur jumped when Alfred shifted and let out a grumble. He quickly yanked his arm back when one eye cracked open and that familiar blue orb landed on Arthur's form.

"Hnn? Arthur?" Alfred grumbled out. He sat himself up and rubbed his eye.

"A-Alfred! Sorry to wake you lad. How are you feeling? Are you sure you should be sitting up? Would you like something? Want me to get the nurse?" Arthur asked, looking around for something to get him. He spotted a pitcher holding water and quickly ran to it. He took one of the cups and then the pitcher, pouring a glass for Alfred and walking back over to him with it.

Alfred took it slowly and stifled a yawn. "Thanks." He took a sip before looking at his surroundings than at Arthur. "Where are we?"

"You're in the infirmary. After what happened I summoned a Pegasus. It flew us to the school and then we closed up your wound. You've been sleeping for awhile now." Arthur sat down and grabbed his robes. His hands were shaking for some odd reason that he couldn't quite figure out.

"Really? A Pegasus? Dude I wish I was awake for that." He took another swig of his water.

"Maybe next time." He swallowed; his throat was dry.

Alfred glanced at him and squinted. He looked around and Arthur realized he was looking for his glasses. Arthur picked them up from the counter and held them out for Alfred. Alfred took them and put them on.

He blinked and looked at Arthur with wide eyes. He looked panicked and set his cup down on the counter. He raised his hands to cup Arthur's face.

"What is it?" Arthur asked, shocked.

"Arthur! Why are you crying?" Alfred asked, his voice a high whisper.

"Wah- crying?" Alfred let go of Arthur so he could feel his own cheeks. Arthur blinked in surprise, his cheeks were soaked and the tears kept coming.

"Artie…" Alfred frowned and reached out a hand. "Seriously what's wrong? Did you get hurt? Are you alright? Wait a second, how did you escape? Did it attack you? Oh god Artie you aren't hurt are you?"

"No! I'm not hurt you bloody fool." Arthur hiccupped and covered his face, his shoulders shaking.

"Then why are you crying?" He looked utterly lost.

"You stupid boy! I'm crying because of you!" He sobbed.

"Me?"

"Yes you!" Arthur glared at him as the tears continued to stream down his face. "You had to be a stupid hero and jump in the way. Why on earth did you do something like that? Did you even think it through before you moved?"

Arthur covered his mouth to stifle another hiccup. "I thought I'd lost you! There was so much blood! You didn't wake up or respond to anything! You were so pale and looked like you were about to die!"

Arthur continued to rant but Alfred had heard enough. Doing the only thing he could think of, he hugged Arthur. Arthur jumped when Alfred's arms wrapped tightly around him. Arthur's bottom lip quivered and he let it all out. He cried on Alfred's shoulder while Alfred petted his hair and whispered soft words to him.

"Shhh, it's alright Artie. I'm alright, there's no more werewolf. You're fine now. I'm fine, see? I'm alive and healthy thanks to you. You saved me Arthur." He mumbled softly.

After awhile Arthur's crying ceased to small hiccups and sniffles. He pulled away and rubbed his face, removing the tears staining his flushed cheeks. He rubbed his nose with his cloak and cast his eyes down to the floor.

"Thank you…" He whispered softly.

"No problem." Alfred smiled happily at him.

"I'd better get back to my room. It's pretty late…" Arthur sighed and took a deep breath before standing. "Sorry to have woken you up."

Arthur was halted when Alfred's hand shot out and grabbed his sleeve, preventing him from leaving. Arthur gave him a questioning glance, tilting his head slightly.

"D-do you think you could stay here? I mean I'm not scared or anything…. It's just… you'll wake up again right?" Alfred let go and began to fidget with the blankets. "So do you, like, wanna stay over for the night?"

Arthur blinked at Alfred and slowly a smile crept up upon his lips. "Sure. That sounds lovely." He mumbled.

Alfred brightened up and scooted over, holding up the blankets for Arthur to crawl under. Arthur hesitated before slipping out of his slippers and joining him on the bed and under the covers. He sighed as the warmth soaked into his body, making him drowsy. He lay down next to Alfred and they laid there, gazing at each other. Alfred blinked and grinned at Arthur, slipping off his glasses and holding them out to him.

"Can you put these back for me?"

Arthur nodded and took them, placing them on the small counter located behind him. He turned back on his side and gave Alfred a small smile.

"Alfred…"

"Yeah?" he breathed.

"Do you know what's going to happen to you? At the next full moon I mean." Arthur searched Alfred's eyes with his own.

"Yeah…" He mumbled after awhile. "I'll turn into a werewolf myself, won't I?" Alfred frowned slightly.

"I'm afraid so. But don't worry, I promise I'll be there with you every step of the way. I'll make sure you don't hurt yourself or anyone else."

"You promise?" Alfred looked deep into his eyes, seeking for the truth.

Arthur nodded sharply. "I do, gentleman's honer!"

"That doesn't mean anything to me Artie." He pouted before his expression brightened, he apparently had an idea. He shoved his hand between their faces, protruding his pinkie from the rest of them. "Pinkie swear!"

"Alfred, that's for little kids."

"Pinkie!"

Arthur sighed before giving up his own pinkie. Alfred locked their small appendages and shook it three times. His smile was contagious, jumping to Arthur's face. Arthur snickered and Alfred chuckled softly. They soon quieted down, their fingers still intertwined.

"Will you stay my friend Arthur?" Alfred asked after awhile.

Arthur thought about it for a second. "Most likely. I can't seem to leave you alone. Who knows what kind of trouble you'd get into if I did leave you be."

"Hay! The same could be said for you. I gotta protect you from every single lake or water bed we come across. You might end up drowning in a puddle." He poked Arthur in the arm with his free hand.

Arthur chuckled, leaving him be. "Whatever. On the contrary, I think it will be me who's the hero next time."

"Wah? Let's not _have_ a next time Arthur! This time was way to close." Alfred frowned at him.

"Yes, you're right on that one." He bit his bottom lip before nodding slowly. "Let's just turn in for the night? I'm feeling rather tired."

"Yeah, me too. Goodnight Arthur." He smiled.

"Goodnight Alfred. See you in the morning…" And they went to sleep like that, facing each other with their pinkies still connected in their promise.

The next morning Arthur had been scolded by the nurse, telling him that he shouldn't have been in the infirmary so late at night. She let it slide however, when she realized Alfred was fully awake. Against her better judgment, Alfred managed to leave the infirmary early. Apparently he had healed faster than she had anticipated. Arthur had left to go to his classes; Alfred was to report to the Headmaster so he would be informed on the situation.

By the time lunch came around, Arthur still felt better than he had the past week. He had gotten a full night's rest and was happily munching away on a simple tart while sipping some Apple Cinnamon Spice tea. Jack sat in front of him and stared at Arthur suspiciously. He took a grilled cheese sandwich, his eyes not leaving the Brit.

"You look cheerful for someone who was the definition of hell yesterday. What happened mate? Happy your boyfriend woke up?" He grinned.

"Boyfriend? And who would that be?" Arthur frowned at him, already expecting the answer.

Jack pointed behind Arthur at the table of Gryffindor students who had gathered around the young third year, Alfred. Arthur followed where Jack was pointing before his face exploded in a blush. He whipped around and glared at Jack.

"How rude! Such jokes like those are simple vile!" He huffed.

"Woah calm down. It's alright man, I'll support you guys." He chuckled and held his hands up in mock surrender. "Just don't let Gilbert know or you'll never hear the end of it."

"Let me know what?"

_Speak of the devil and he shall appear._ Arthur thought, rolling his eyes. He took a bite of his tart as Gilbert sat in front of Arthur. Antonio and Francis both took to sitting next to the German, Jack being scooted down further. He sent them an annoyed glare but remained quiet.

"So where were you this morning? Antonio says he woke up in the middle of the night and you were gone. Didn't find you this morning either." Gilbert took a bite of a ham sandwich.

"I hear someone has been making late night visits to the infirmary." Francis smirked, tossing some of his hair over his shoulder.

"Well your information is false." Arthur glared at him from across the table.

"Oh? Late night visits to your boyfriend huh?" Gilbert snickered.

"Mi amigo, don't you think you're too young to be dating? Though my Lovino is just one year older than you. He's so adorable; his cheeks get so red when he's mad. It reminds me of a tiny tomato." He sighed happily, growing lost in his own world.

Arthur growled, biting harshly into his tart. He swallowed before snapping, "I'm not dating _anyone._"

"Then how about you have a go with me hm? I've been told I'm a very good lover." Francis winked at him and Arthur scoffed.

"Who would want to date you?" He rolled his eyes.

Francis feigned hurt, dramatically putting a hand over his heart. "Mon cher, you wound me! I have you know that many Ravenclaw maidens have pledged their hearts to me."

"Now that sounds like an April Fool's joke! Gilbert, I was unaware today was April first!" Arthur gasped, sending the German a shocked look.

"Me neither! Looks like it came early!" He snickered.

"How rude! I swear it's the truth!" Francis huffed before composing himself. He sent Arthur a pitiful look. "Don't worry. I used to understand how felt to be single."

"Oh? And who exactly are you dating?" Jack leaned over and looked at Francis with a raised brow.

"O-oh! She's a Hufflepuff sweetheart." He jumped, almost looking panicked.

"Yeah right." Arthur rolled his eyes.

"It's true!"

"Then what does she look like?" Gilbert smirked at his friend.

"U-um well… She's got golden hair like moi, it's wavy and reaches her shoulders. She has violet-blue eyes… they're very beautiful. She wears glasses, it really brings them out. She's really soft spoken but very kind. She acts like a mother sometimes, it's very adorable. She speaks some French, which I found out she's learning. Its coincidental I speak French, non? It's a match made in heaven." Francis sighed happily.

Arthur blinked, his brows drawing together. _That sounds an awful lot like…_ "Matthew."

"Eh?" Everyone looked at Arthur.

"He just described Matthew, Alfred's twin." Gilbert and Antonio looked at Francis before bursting out laughing.

"N-no I wasn't! He just happens to sound like my darling!" Francis blushed brightly.

Arthur laughed happily, holding his stomach. "Oh this is priceless!"

"Franny has a little crush on a Hufflepuff kid! How cute!" Gilbert cackled. He slipped and arm over Francis's shoulders, pulling him close. "Don't worry man. Your secret is safe with us." He said between chuckled.

Francis blushed hotly before glaring at Arthur. He threw an insult in French. Arthur scowled, setting his tea cup down.

"I'm sorry; my ears must be playing tricks on me. You _did not_ just say that, did you?" Arthur growled. Arthur had picked up a little French from hanging out with Francis and Matthew; it was enough to inform him on the particular insult Francis had just thrown at him.

"I did and I'll say it once more!" Francis sneered.

And that was what led to the both of them throwing, not just insults at each other, but food. Arthur had tackled Francis when the male had decided to spill Arthur's tea all over his lap. Arthur and Francis wrestled on the floor, the other students all panicking and some even cheering them on. They were suddenly pulled apart by Gilbert and Antonio when Arthur had shoved a crushed tart down Francis's pants. They quickly dragged them out of the lunch room, Germania hot on their heels.

They all received quite an earful of scolding, though Arthur and Francis found it rather funny. Once Germania was satisfied and had left them to their own devices, all of them had busted out laughing. Gilbert had pointed out that Arthur had some cheese and ham bits in his hair. Francis was pulling his pants back to view the damage the tart had caused. He then proceeded to whine to Arthur about how his silk boxers were ruined.

The two of them then quickly got cleaned up before they went to their afternoon classes. Soon Arthur was in his last class of the day, Care of Magical Creatures with Germania. They were taking a trip to the stables, they were required to go around in pairs and observe the animals. Arthur and Matthew were instantly side by side, their group formed before the words left Germania's mouth. They giggled to each other, happily looking around at the animals. Matthew was very excited about petting some of the animals, though it was on a quieter level than most.

Arthur could still sense the pure joy radiating off of him. Matthew suddenly grabbed Arthur's hand and gave it a good shake. He pointed at the end stable and gasped.

"Arthur! Look! It's a Pegasus!" He practically squealed.

Everyone's attention was now on the gray horse standing in the largest stable. They all moved towards it, hoping it would come closer to one of them. They held out sugar cubes they got from somewhere, each trying to coax it over. Arthur couldn't stop the faint smile from spreading on his lips. He weaseled his way through the group before stopping in front of the stable. He smiled at the horse and it looked up, locking eyes with Arthur.

"Hello. It's good to see you again." Arthur tilted his head to the side.

Everyone stopped talking to stare at Arthur as the horse flicked its head and moved closer to the Brit. It leaned over the post and nuzzled Arthur's hand. Arthur smiled at it and let out a soft chuckle.

"Alfred? Oh he's fine now, thanks to you. We would've died back there if it wasn't for you. Thank you for that. I hope to repay your kindness someday, I know whatever I do won't be enough." Arthur smiled, hugging its large snout. The horse nickered and lifted its head up as Germania walked behind the group.

"Vladimir said to let the Pegasus stay here until you came down to see it. He said you'd want to show your thanks before we release him back into the wild." Germania smiled slightly. A rare sight reserved only for those closest to the German. "Would you like me to let him out?"

Arthur looked at Germania, ignoring the other students who all wanted a ride. Arthur looked at the Pegasus, searching its dark brown eyes for an answer. The horse whinnied and dipped its head in a quick nod. Arthur smiled at it and nodded, looking at Germania.

"Yes, he would like that very much."

The rest of the period consisted of Arthur leading the Pegasus around, sometimes asking the beast if it was willing to give rides. It complied as long as Arthur was leading it around. Arthur let Matthew get the longest ride, the boy was beyond ecstatic. When the class period ended, the Pegasus had promised Arthur it would see him again. With that, the horse had flown away, returning to the forest.

Matthew and Arthur were walking up the path leading towards the school, both happily talking about the future.

"I hope I get something with wings. Anything is fine as long as it has wings. The feeling of flying on the Pegasus's back was beyond breathtaking; I wish to feel it once more." Arthur sighed, fond of the memory of flying. He had ignored the fact Alfred had been bleeding out on his lap, focusing only on the positive.

"I don't care much for heights. Maybe something really fluffy that could stand winters. I don't want it freezing when we go to Canada for when I visit my mom. I'd like for it to live for a long time." Matthew smiled softly.

"Yes that would be best. I'd like for my companion to live as long as me, if not longer." Arthur nodded.

"Companion?" Matthew sent him a questioning glance.

"Well I'm not ever going to call it a 'pet'. It seems too harsh to name a magical beast a 'pet'. If anything, it would be considered my companion and my friend. Plus, it would understand me. I don't want to go around calling it a pet while it understands what the word means." Arthur informed him.

"Oh right, I guess companion would be better huh?" Arthur had told Matthew about his gift, he trusted the boy not to tell. After awhile Matthew spoke up again. "So how are things between you and Alfred?"

Arthur hesitated; pausing and having Matthew walk ahead of him. When the quiet boy noticed Arthur had stopped, he also halted and turned around.

"Arthur?" He sent the Brit a worried look.

Arthur shook his head and began to walk again. "No its nothing, don't worry. Actually, Alfred and I have agreed to start over once more. We'll be attempting to mend our friendship. But right now we're merely acquaintances. We're not considered friends _quite_ yet."

"Oh? Is that so?" Matthew gave him a knowing smile. Arthur raised a brow at him, frowning slightly.

"What are getting at?"

Matthew never got the chance to answer, someone was practically screaming Arthur's name. Arthur watched as the familiar blond hair appeared from out of nowhere. He was suddenly smashed to the ground in a death-like grip. Arthur coughed out, groaning in pain.

"Oh lord, I think you broke something." He coughed.

He scowled when Alfred sat up, beaming happily at him.

"Hay Artie! You done with your lessons for today?" Alfred grinned down at him, ignoring the fact that he might've broken one or two of Arthur's ribs.

"Just acquaintances?" Arthur heard Matthew giggle.

His scowl deepened and he shoved Alfred off of him. He stood up and dusted himself off, gathering up his books. "No actually. I have extra lessons to attend to. You should know that."

Alfred groaned in annoyance. He remained sitting as he looked up at Arthur. "That's no fun! What am I supposed to do while you're off learning?"

Arthur glanced at Matthew then down at Alfred. "Read a book." He said bluntly.

"No way! You're supposed to read books for me. You make them more interesting. Didn't I tell you that already?" He stood up and dusted his hands off.

"I can't Alfred. Look, I have to get going. I can't be tardy." Arthur sighed, running a hand through his hair in exasperation.

"Can't you just skip today?" Alfred pleaded, pulling out his kicked puppy look.

"No. I can't." Arthur looked appalled at the mere suggestion of it.

"Then can I come with you? Please Artie? I promise I'll be good and real quiet! You won't even know I'm there!" Alfred clasped his hands together and jutted out his bottom lip, pouting profusely.

Arthur looked torn between saying no and allowing him to attend. Staring down into his blue depths was a death sentence Arthur could not escape. He let out a sigh and shook his head; Alfred had won the argument.

Seeing the look of defeat on Arthur's face allowed a grin to spread out on Alfred's lips. He leapt up, pumping a fist in the air and shouting in triumph. Arthur rolled his eyes and sent Matthew an apologetic look.

"Sorry Matthew, we need to be leaving now." Arthur sighed.

"Oh it's no problem at all. I'll see you tomorrow Arthur." Matthew smiled.

He waved before turning and continuing on his way. Alfred looked surprised that Matthew was there.

"Woah. When did Matt get here?" He blinked.

Arthur rolled his eyes and grabbed Alfred's hand, yanking him along. "Oh hush it. We're going to be late at this rate, thanks to a certain someone." Arthur sent a half-hearted glare at Alfred.

Alfred grinned triumphantly at him, winking. "I know you're happy to have me join you. No need to hide it Artie."

"Cocky bastard…" Arthur grumbled, a faint blush dusting his cheeks.

Alfred had made it a habit to come to Arthur's extra lessons. He would be there every day, eagerly watching Arthur cast and weave spells. In return he demanded Arthur go to his games. The first game of the school year was Gryffindor against Slytherin, like always. It had proved to be a wild game. Alfred had showed more strength than he ever had. Arthur was positive he was stronger than he ever was, maybe even stronger than Romulus, and that was saying something. Arthur had quickly pinpointed it to the werewolf blood coursing through his veins.

It had proven to be truer when Alfred had gained cuts and bruises in the game for falling off his broom and into the ground. Instead of breaking a bone he simply cut his arm and bruised himself. Those had healed the next day when he woke up. Arthur had reason to believe the werewolf blood allowed him to heal faster than a normal human. Alfred's appetite hadn't changed; he was still as gluttonous as ever. Arthur would glance up during a meal to see Alfred shoving his face with whatever food they had spread out. It had diminished Arthur's appetite slightly.

Soon it was October and just a week before Halloween. It was also the night of the full moon. Arthur had watched Alfred every chance he got. He wanted to see if there were any changes in his behavior. Alfred still acted as normal as ever, shoving muffins into his mouth during breakfast. He was casually laughing and joking with his friends, Arthur wondered if he even realized today was a full moon. Jack caught Arthur glancing up at Alfred once again and he couldn't help but groan.

"Listen pommy, if you wanna ask him out then do it. You're constant staring is really tiring me out mate!" He took a bite of his muffin.

Arthur sputtered, spitting his tea out everywhere. Jack and a few other Slytherin's let out whines of displeasure. Arthur whipped his mouth and sent Jack an exasperated look.

"I-I beg your pardon? I promise you there is nothing of the sort going on!" Arthur blushed brightly.

Jack raised a disbelieving brow at him. "Uh huh. And I'm a flying Wombat." He rolled his eyes. "Come on Arthur. I see the way you look at him."

"Piss off! You're a first year! What the bloody hell do you know?" Arthur hissed.

"A lot more than you, apparently." Jack mused.

"Well I apologize for not being as educated as the Australians!" Arthur glared down at his cup of tea. "Besides, we're both men. Its unnatural to even consider it!"

"Really? That's what you're stuck on?" Jack sent him an exasperated look. "I figured it would be something like: "_No he's in Gryffindor and I'm in Slytherin. We're practically sworn enemies. It just can't be!_" Yada yada. You know, some Romeo and Juliet crap." He over dramatically waved his hand while doing the worst impression of Arthur's accent.

"Well sorry my life isn't like a fairy tale." Arthur grumbled.

"Arthur, mate, you're in a school for witches and wizards. What part of your life _isn't_ a fairy tale?" Jack snickered.

Arthur grunted and shrugged, done with the conversation. Jack sighed, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Alright, so you won't admit that there's _something_ there."

"There isn't anything there! We're perfectly normal friends!" Arthur slammed his tea cup down, silently wincing at the sound.

"But will you be saying that once he's gone and gotten himself a lass hanging on his arm? He's a beauty, plays Quidditch, and has a personality everyone likes. You don't think he'll be single forever do you?" Jack sent him a nonchalant look as he played with a piece of toast.

Arthur hesitated before glancing up at Alfred. He was laughing carelessly at something one of his friends said, Jessica was hanging close to him, laughing lightly. Arthur swallowed and licked his suddenly dry lips. He looked back down at his tea, running his finger along the rim.

"I don't see how that's any of my business. Good for him for winning a girl. That should be something celebrated." Arthur mumbled, ignoring the tiny sharp pain in his chest. He shook his head, _probably hurting from my nerves. Today is a full moon, Alfred's first transformation…_

"Then why do you keep looking at him?"

Arthur bit his bottom lip, not looking up into Jack's eyes. "It's… complicated." He manages to say. "You wouldn't understand."

Jack looked like he wanted to say more, but they were interrupted by the screech of owl's.

"Oh! Mail's here!" Arthur forced out a laugh, waiting for his owl to appear.

An owl dropped in front of Jack, it was a Tasmanian Masked Owl. It ruffled its messed up, unevenly cut feathers. It more or less tossed a small package at Jack, hitting him in the face. Jack rubbed his nose and caught the package, grunting in annoyance.

"Thanks Tammy." He said.

The owl screeched and ruffled its feathers, taking off and scattering some of its torn feathers around. Arthur caught one and held it, casting a questioning glance at Jack.

"She's an old gal, was my dad's owl when he went here. She's a little nutty though. Almost got killed by a pack of dingo's back home." He broke a small grin.

"I see." Arthur dropped the feather when he saw his owl fly overhead. It dropped two letters in front of him before flying off. Arthur picked them up, glancing between the two. He blinked and paled when he saw a red letter with tiny markings on the seal.

"Crikey, Arthur isn't that a howler?" Jack paused in opening his small package.

"Y-yes. I'm afraid it is." He bit his bottom lip. "Well…. Might as well get this over with." He broke the seal and the letter flew out of his hand, floating in front of him.

"Stupid Arthur Kirkland!" It shouted. Jack and Arthur both jolted, the others at the table stopped in their conversations to listen to the raging letter. "You can't do anything right! You suck at potions beyond compare! You have such ugly unruly hair!"

Arthur paled, it was a howler made to insult him. What was worse was it was written into a poem format.

"It was your fault Alfred got hurt, maybe you should've died instead. That would save us from welling up with dread. We hate your eyes and stupid voice, what we hate more isn't a choice. We hate you Arthur Kirkland. From your snake eyes to your toes, we even hate your ugly nose!" It screamed.

Arthur's eyes widened in horror and he slapped a hand over his nose. By now the teachers were looking at the letter insulting the boy, even the other tables had grown quiet.

"Why would you choose to go to Hogwarts? No one wanted you here! I think we've made that pretty clear. You think you're so cool with riding the Pegasus into the school, you think that'd make the girls drool? You're a stupid little snake who loves unicorns! Did we forget to mention you have a toy unicorn in your room?"

Arthur gasped in utter dread, whoever had written this letter had been inside his room. He could hear some scattered snickers around the Great Hall; he felt a lump form in his throat.

"Do you also have a unicorn costume? You most likely do, it has to be true. Arthur Kirkland is a gay little girl, just the thought makes us wanna hurl! You're a stupid snake; you make us do a retake. Maybe Lord Voldemort wasn't the real bad guy, maybe the real one should die! Arthur Kirkland you're evil to your soul! Your heart is as black as a coal. You're the real dark lord, now everyone can see! If you'd die it make us all feel glee!"

Jack looked horrified and Gilbert had stood up from his seat in rage. Antonio, Yao, Arthur's brothers, and even Francis all stood up to join that anger.

"Go die Arthur! It'd be the smarter choice! Then no one would have to hear your annoying voice! Go end your life! End it with a knife!"

Tears welled up in Arthur's eyes and he covered his mouth.

"I've heard enough of this bullshit!" Gilbert shouted. He pulled out his wand and cast a spell. The letter was consumed in flames, its ashes littering the table. Arthur quickly got up from his seat, his other letter clenched tightly in his hand. He sprinted past Gilbert and Antonio and towards the entrance. He hiccupped when a few people erupted into laughter. He bit his bottom lip harshly, tearing the skin.

He yanked the door open and ran out, ignoring the shouts of his name behind him. He sprinted as quickly as he could move his legs, ignoring the pounding of feet behind him. He let the tears fall freely down his face; he continued to run, letting his feet carry him anywhere. He let out a yelp as he was suddenly tackled to the floor.

"Would you fucking stop running? God damn it!" Gilbert growled.

Arthur hiccupped and tried to crawl out of his grip. "Let me go!"

"You keep trying to run and I'll break your legs!" Gilbert threatened.

Arthur sniffed and sat up, turning around to stare at Gilbert. Behind him Antonio, Francis, Yao, Kiku, Jack, Matthew, and Alfred where just rounding the corner. Arthur blinked in surprise when Allistor, Colin, and Dylan appeared after them. They were all breathing hard, looking flushed.

"Shit Arthur, how far did you intend to run?" Allistor growled.

Arthur sniffed, a warm felling welling up inside of him at the sight of the friends he had made. He hiccupped again and covered his face with his hands, crying into his palms.

"Damn it! Whoever sent that piece of shit is dead! I'm gonna fucking kill them!" Gilbert snarled harshly.

"Don't exclude us! We'll beat them bloody!" Colin said coldly.

Yao had begun to shout out curses and violent words in Chinese, effectively expressing Kiku's thoughts as well. Matthew looked angry for once, his eyes narrowed menacingly.

"How could they write something so hurtful? How dare they do that?" He clenched his hands at his side.

Alfred dropped to his knees next to the Brit and enveloped him into a tight hug. Arthur let out a soft sob, letting himself cry. He was too hurt to even care that anyone was seeing him being weak.

Jack growled, popping his knuckles. "I'll skin em all!"

"They used "we" when writing, I don't think this was just one person." Francis hissed darkly.

"Plus they went into Arthur's room. Only Slytherin's can get into the Slytherin common room. There's no way another house member could." Antonio frowned.

"Unless they had a Slytherin help them in. We've done it before when bringing Francis into the common room." Gilbert crossed his arms over his chest and remained sitting on the floor.

"Well how are we going to figure out who wrote it? Gilbert burned up the letter; we could've extracted finger prints!" Yao put his hands on his hips.

"And just how the hell would we do that? This isn't CSI people!" Dylan snapped. "At least Gilbert _did_ something! Why the hell didn't the teachers do anything? The first moment the letter started throwing insults they should've jumped to snatch it up and rip it away!"

"You didn't do anything either!" Alfred snapped hotly. Everyone's head whipped to the American. "They must've been just as shocked as us! We didn't expect anything like _that_ to happen, but it did."

"Well the ones in Slytherin weren't Josh, Edith, Addison, or Jake. They were kicked outa Slytherin by Vladimir." Gilbert snorted.

"And it wouldn't ever be me or Gilbert, Arthur is our friend." Antonio frowned.

"Aya, then who did this?" Yao looked at Kiku. "Do you have any ideas?"

Kiku hesitated before shaking his head slowly. "I apologize, but no, I don't have any clues. However, I can try and search for some."

"We'll beat those fuckers down." Allistor growled.

"How could anyone be so cruel as to write that? They even used a howler!" Alfred's grip on Arthur began to tighten to an uncomfortable level.

Arthur sniffed and whipped his face, pulling away from Alfred who was reluctant to let go. "It's fine. I'm alright now." He mumbled.

"No you don't. Don't you dare go pulling that crap about how you're fine and not hurt at all," Allistor glared at him. "I don't want to hear it! I want to find those assholes that did this."

"We'll be coming too." Colin and Dylan said in unison.

"Don't leave me, Gilbert, and Francis out of this!" Antonio grinned.

"I will help Kiku find clues, aru. I am good at solving things." Yao smiled. Allistor nodded and then looked at Alfred and Matthew.

"You two stay with Arthur. If anything else happens to him, your arses are mine." He warned.

Matthew nodded briskly and glanced at Jack. The Aussie appeared to be in deep thought. He blinked and grinned.

"I've got it! We'll split up and ask around our houses. We'll see if anyone spills the beans. If they don't then we give them a little…." He smirked darkly. "Nudge in the right direction."

"Or punch." Colin snickered.

The group all agreed and split up once the bell rang. They all planned to ask around their first period classes. Matthew looked reluctant to leave, glancing at Arthur then at Alfred.

"Well what are we to do now?" He whispered. "Arthur is in no shape to go to class."

"I'll… walk him to his dorm. I'll make sure he gets there safely." Alfred refused to make eye contact with Matthew for some reason.

"…. Well alright. If you're sure…" He mumbled.

Arthur gave him a forced smile that refused to reach his eyes. "Don't worry Matthew, I'll be fine. You run off to your class, don't be late now."

Matthew reluctantly left after Alfred assured him that Arthur would be fine. Soon he and Arthur were walking down the halls. It wasn't until they were standing in front of Romulus's potions room did Arthur realize they weren't doing what he had promised. Arthur quickly grabbed his coat sleeve.

"Alfred, what are we doing here? Romulus has a class!" He hissed.

"I know. But we're gonna go to the Room of Requirement. I'll need the Wolfsbane for today." He smiled cheerfully.

He broke out of Arthur's grip easily, opening the door and entering the classroom. He left Arthur on the other side, awaiting his return. Arthur frowned and looked down at the floor, shoving his hands in his pockets. He blinked in surprise when his hand hit something. Pulling it out he realized it was the second letter he never had the chance to read. Arthur looked at the back of it, reading the fancy lettering. It was a letter from his parents. He drew his eyebrows together and frowned. This was the first letter they had sent to him ever since he'd first gone to Hogwarts.

He looked up when Alfred came out of the room holding a round ivory potion bottle. The top of it was plugged up with a rubber cork that contrasted to the light colour of the bottle. Arthur frowned at it slightly and Alfred frowned at the letter in Arthur's hand.

"What's that?" He stared at the piece of parchment accusingly.

"It's a letter from my parents." Arthur shoved it back into his pocket before looking up at Alfred. "Ready to go?"

"Yep! Got the Wolfsbane all ready and everything!" He chuckled and grabbed Arthur's hand, dragging him down the hall and up the stairs.

"A-Alfred slow down!" Arthur gasped out.

"No way! You were running faster than Gilbert till he caught you, and that's saying something!" Alfred grinned at him over his shoulder. Arthur frowned, remaining quiet. He sighed and let Alfred drag him to the forgotten room.

"Thank you, Romulus." Arthur smiled as he took the tray of food.

"Now if something happens or something goes wrong, I want you to do anything you can to get out. Use your wand if you have to. It's important you remain just as safe as Alfred. We'll keep him locked in here till the night is over." Romulus nodded.

Arthur gave him a troubled smile. "I couldn't leave Alfred alone in here. He needs someone to go through this with him. Besides, it's my fault he's going through this anyways." Arthur cast his eyes to the floor.

Romulus frowned a bit before ruffling Arthur's hair, messing it up further. "Don't think like that. You'll just end up feeling worse."

Arthur chuckled and smiled up at him. "I guess you're right."

Romulus and Arthur remained quiet for awhile longer. Arthur decided he should close the door before night was upon them.

"Arthur."

The Brit paused and glanced up at Romulus questioningly.

"Yes?"

"Are you alright? After today's incident I mean… Don't worry; Vladimir is working on finding the students who did that. Its unforgivable to do such harsh things to another student, Vladimir won't let it slide so easily." The usually upbeat professor looked rather angry.

Arthur let out a soft chuckle. "Yes, I'm quite alright now. I'm feeling better though, knowing I have dear friends helping me along. Gilbert and my brothers looked ready to kill!" He smiled warmly.

"Well let's hope they get to the culprits before us, eh?" He winked at Arthur and grinned. "Ivan and I will be right outside patrolling. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call."

Arthur nodded. "Alright. Thank you." He closed the door, turning around and struggling to manage the tray of food and tea. Alfred decided then to put down his comic book and help Arthur set the tray down on a small table.

The room had been changed to have a cozy feel to it while having a large cage in the center along with a numerous amount of chains linked to the bars. Arthur shuddered at the thought that Alfred might have to spend the night inside the cage. While it had soft blankets and rugs along with large pillows, it still looked less friendly. On the outside of the cage were a large fireplace, a nice small table, some rugs and pillows, and even a small space to sleep on the floor.

Arthur sat at the table and watched Alfred munch on some potatoes and corn. He poured himself some tea, but his hands were shaking too much for him to properly pour it. He spilt some outside of his tea cup and sucked his teeth in annoyance.

"Oh bother…" He mumbled.

He tried to pour it again but was, however, stopped by Alfred's hand. He looked up at Alfred who in turn smiled warmly at Arthur. He took the tea pot and poured Arthur's tea himself. He set the tea pot down without incident and returned back to his food. Arthur swallowed harshly and looked down at his tea cup.

"How can you be so calm? Aren't you scared that'll it will go wrong? What if the potion doesn't work?" He whispered barely audibly.

Alfred stopped in his consumption of food. He looked up at Arthur and set his fork down. He hummed thoughtfully and leaned back in his chair, stretching his hands behind his head before resting them on the back of them.

"Well, to be honest I'm not really scared. I'm actually kinda excited." He admitted sheepishly. "I should be scared though, but I'm not. I trust Romulus's potion, I know it'll work. I also trust you to do what's right. I know you'll make sure I don't hurt anyone. But I want you to promise me that you won't be reckless either."

"What? Like you were?" Arthur joked.

Alfred laughed loudly, his voice ringing around them. "You're right! Don't be like me ok? I'm a certified hero, you aren't. I'm made to take risks, it's something hero's do." He grinned happily.

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Yes yes, whatever. Here," He pulled out the rubber cork from the potion bottle that had been sitting on the table. He held it out to Alfred. "You'd better drink up. We don't know when you'll transform."

Alfred swallowed, his smile faltering slightly. He took the potion, looking at it then at Arthur. He bit his bottom lip before downing the potion in a few large gulps. He pulled the bottle away from his mouth and coughed violently. He whipped his mouth and groaned.

"Oh god that's so gross! I have to drink that every full moon? Oh that's gross!" He set the bottle down and took Arthur's tea cup. He gulped down the tea and stuck out his tongue. "Bleh. Bitter."

"Hay! That was my cup of tea, bloody wanker!" He huffed angrily.

"You have an entire pot of tea!" Alfred poured another cup for Arthur anyways.

Arthur and Alfred continued to bicker lightly while they ate. Soon when the food was gone, Arthur and Alfred both walked into the cage. Arthur sat next to Alfred at the back of it. Alfred leaned his shoulder against Arthur, closing his eyes in silent concentration. Arthur didn't know why he was so concentrated; he just knew he was focusing on something.

"Hay Artie?"

"Hm?"

"When I transform, can you stay with me through it? I-it's not that I'm scared or anything, I just don't want to go through it alone…" Arthur blinked and smiled at Alfred.

"Yes, I'll stay with you. But if you go crazy, I'll stay with you on the _outside_ of the cage." Arthur bumped Alfred's shoulder lightly.

Alfred smiled warmly at him and nodded. "Yeah! Thanks Artie."

They fell back into silence, each dwelling in their own thoughts.

Soon Alfred broke the silence yet again with a question. "What do you think it'll be like? Will I look like that one werewolf?"

"Well maybe a bit younger. Plus, I really never did get a good look. I think I was too busy running for my life and all." Arthur chuckled.

"Do you think I'll end up hurting you?" Alfred whispered.

"Not if I have anything to say about it! Besides, you took the Wolfsbane. You'll be fine. Also, you'll need to learn how to make it. You'll be carrying this burden with you for the rest of your life…" Arthur's mood began to plummet at the thought of the horror's he had condemned Alfred to.

"Hay Artie…" Alfred turned to him. "Don't worry, it'll be alright. You'll be there for when I-" He was cut off as he gasped out in pain. He coiled over his stomach, groaning out. Arthur suddenly began to panic; he grabbed Alfred by the shoulders, trying to steady the boy.

"Alfred!" he cried out.

Alfred let out another groan and Arthur watched in horror as Alfred's form began to distort. He fell backwards and scooted away, his heartbeat thundering in his ears. He could feel his heart pounding away against his ribcage, the blind fear stabbing at every one of his senses, telling him to flee. He couldn't tear his eyes away as Alfred began to take on the other form. He could feel the blood drain from his face and how his hands went numb and sweaty.

It happened quickly, the figure before him no longer resembled the boy. His clothes were torn and scattered about him in bits as he crouched over his form and let out a small whimper. Arthur could feel the sweat drip from his brow, a chill going down his spine. He licked his dry lips, opening and closing his mouth in an attempt to regain his voice. He found it after a few minutes of gaping like a fish.

"Al….fred?" He whispered out softly.

* * *

A/N: Thank you all for the kind and sweet reviews! I love reading them all! It also brings me immense joy to read that i have fan's not just in the US! It makes me beyond happy to know that. As for a quick update on stories to come, the next one i'm writing will be an Alpha and Omega USUK. Then after that will take place during Witch Hunts, it will also be a USUK. After that I might do a NiChu fanfic, i'll have to think about it. But don't worry, i'll make sure to finish _The King of Slytherin_ before I start writing anything new. I would also like to write some Kingdom Heart fanfictions. Thank you to my lovely editors, i'm very happy for your help. Thank you for your reviews, i love hearing your opinion on how you think the story is so far!


	8. Chapter 8

The figure looked at him with deep electric blue eyes. He watched the silver flecks dance around in the blue depths before his blood ran cold. The beast parted its jaws and revealed large canines. Suddenly, a loud howl ripped through the silent air. It echoed around the room and made Arthur's ears ring painfully. Arthur slapped hands over his ears and he watched with wide eyes.

The werewolf- no- Alfred, dropped to all fours and looked at Arthur's paling face. It took a small step towards the boy. Arthur's legs were shaking and his blood ran cold. He took a step back, slipping on the edge of the rug. He fell back with a yelp and landed unceremoniously on his rump. He let out a gasp and scooted back further, a small frightful hiccup leaving his lips.

He was afraid, Arthur Kirkland was afraid. He was afraid of the creature his dear friend had become; he was like this because of Arthur. Arthur clenched his eyes closed tightly, his shoulders shaking visibly. He cowered in front of what was now Alfred. Arthur waited for an attack; he waited for the claws and teeth. He stiffened as he waited for his evident demise. As much as he wanted to believe that the potion worked, he couldn't help but let his doubt plague his mind. His bottom lip quivered in evident fear. _This is it,_ he thought to himself. _I'm going to die. Alfred will kill me and it'll be my fault. I was the one who made him get hurt. _ His thoughts were making him sick to his stomach, the bitter bile rising in the back of his throat.

Instead of his screams of pain reaching his ears, he heard a distinct whimper. His eyes shot open and he quickly looked up. Alfred had his head and body lowered closely to the floor. His ears were back against his head and his eyes were wide with concern. At first Arthur thought he was hearing things, but then the beast in front of him let out another long whimper. Arthur blinked and licked his cracked lips, opening his mouth and closing it up again. He continued to do that, searching for the right words.

"Al…fred?" He tested, cautiously lowering his hands from cupping his ears.

Alfred's ears pricked and he picked his head up, parting his jaws and letting out another whine. Arthur drew his brows together, licking his lips once more.

"Are you… you?" He whispered softly, afraid for the worse.

The werewolf huffed and snorted as if to say, "_Well who else would it be?_"

Arthur sent him a scowl, puffing out his cheeks in a pout. "Well pardon me for asking! I'm just worried Romulus's potion failed; I don't want my throat ripped out!" He instantly regretted speaking so harshly.

Alfred's ears fell once more and he lowered his head and whimpered. He covered his muzzle with his clawed hands, letting out another whine. Arthur swallowed, relaxing slightly. _This is Alfred, my Alfred, not some mad beast. He's all there, he won't hurt me. His in his right mind._

Arthur stood up slowly and ignored the way his legs shook. He cautiously walked towards Alfred despite the fact he was wobbling like a newborn calf. Alfred glanced up at him but was smart enough to remain still. Arthur bit his bottom lip and inched slowly towards the lying werewolf. He reached out a tentative hand and crouched down. Alfred raised his head a little too quickly, making Arthur jump back. Arthur took a deep breath and thrust his hand forward, his eyes unconsciously closed tightly. His top row of teeth sunk into the flesh of his lips. Arthur's hand shook visibly and Alfred let out another soft whimper. He lifted his head to meet Arthur's hand, brushing his muzzle against it. The small act set off the inner turmoil Arthur was facing and the Brit suddenly broke down. He let out a choked sob and dropped to his knees.

He grabbed Alfred's face between his hands and his eyes burned with tears. He hiccupped pitifully, "Oh Alfred! What've I done to you? This is my entire fault! You'll have to carry this burden with you for your entire life!" He wailed.

Alfred whimpered and his eyes grew wide as the prideful Arthur broke down once more that day. He let out a shocked whine and lifted a bony hand. He cupped Arthur's cheek and it was soon followed by the other hand. Arthur jumped, looking up into those blue depths he was so familiar with. Arthur blinked when Alfred began whipping his tears away.

He whined again and it was Arthur's turn for his eyes to go wide in shock. "_God Artie, don't cry like this! It really messes me up! It isn't your fault! I was the one who jumped in front of the werewolf protecting you!_"

Arthur quickly grabbed Alfred's wrists, much to the werewolf's surprise. "Alfred!"

Alfred's ears dropped and he tilted his head to the side curiously. "_What?_"

"Oh! It's my gift! My _sight_!" Arthur cried out happily.

"_What about it Artie? Does it hurt? Where does it hurt? Your eyes? No, no it would be your ears since you understand magical creatures huh?_" He proceeded to turn Arthur's head this way and that, trying to inspect him for the invisible wounds.

"No you daft oaf! I'm not hurt!" He couldn't help but laugh. He grabbed Alfred's muzzle and forced Alfred to focus on him. "Alfred, you're also a magical creature!"

The werewolf blinked, his ears flicking forward. He stared at Arthur for a few more seconds before realization sparked in his blue eyes. He jumped up on all fours, knocking Arthur back. He bounced excitedly, his eyes dancing with light.

"_Ooooh right! That means you can understand me! Oh man that is so cool! Well now you can listen to what I need huh? Dude I wonder if this is what a dog feels like, you think so?"_ His endless energy had not been killed by his transformation, much to Arthur's displeasure. Arthur gave a crooked smile, looking down at the floor.

"Yeah…"

Alfred stopped in his happy prance, looking at Arthur. "_Artie?"_ He moved closer and lowered his body so he was eye level with the Brit. "_What's wrong? The tea making you sick? It was pretty gross…_" A low grumble resounded in his throat.

Arthur sent a hot scowl at him, shoving his face away. "No. The tea was completely perfect! Uncultured twit." He huffed.

Alfred made a deep whine that sounded like a strange laugh, almost like a hyena's bark. "_Alright, alright, your stinky tea was fine._" He sat next to Arthur and nudged the Brit with his muzzle. "_Come; tell Alfie what's the matter._"

Arthur raised a brow and gave him an incredulous look. _Alfie? _He rolled his eyes and sighed, looking up at the ceiling. "Well… I know you said it isn't my fault… but I just can't help and feel it is."

Alfred let out a groan, getting up and walking on all fours to the cage entrance. "_You're over thinking it Artie! I'm fine! If anything, this is actually pretty cool! I mean my strength is crazy and I heal faster than anyone! I could seriously be a Superhero!_"

"Alfred!" He stood up and stormed after the creature that had just shoved his way past the entrance and towards the table that still carried one baked potato. "You're not taking this seriously!"

"_I'm starving. Aww, we only have one potato! Artieeeeee_," He turned his grey muzzle and let out a whine. "_Call Romulus and ask him for more food._"

"Alfred!" Arthur said sternly, placing his hands on his hips. "Listen to me! You'll have to be a werewolf for the rest of your life!"

"_So? Doesn't sound too bad._" He turned back to the table and stood up on his hind legs, wobbling slightly. He crouched over the table and gobbled up the potato. Arthur ignored the lack of manners; Alfred never had them in the first place. He was, however, a little thrown off at the new added height Alfred had gained from standing up on his hind legs.

He shook his head, _now is not the time to be deterred! _"Alfred, how can you not think about what you have to live with now? What about when you fall in love and marry someone? You will have to tell them your secret!"

"_Then I'll tell them._"

"But what if they don't accept it? What if they grow afraid?"

Alfred looked at him after licking his jaws. His blue eyes were strangely serious. "_Then I'll just find someone who loves me, werewolf and all. It's as simple as that._" He dropped to all fours and headed towards where the entryway of the Room of Requirement was.

Arthur swallowed, watching Alfred for a long while. His heart clenched painfully at the thought of Alfred going off to marry someone. He bit his bottom lip, before marriage he would have to date someone. What then? Would he tell them? Arthur decided to ask that instead.

"Say you go out with someone, will you tell them too?" He followed after Alfred.

"_No way! Well… not at first. Only if I know it's gonna turn out into something more. I don't wanna blab my secret; a hero can't reveal their secret identity!_" He went to where the door should be and put a hand on it. Soon the door revealed itself and Alfred let out a noise of triumph.

Arthur was about to say something when he realized what Alfred was doing. He quickly rushed to the male and ran in front of him, shoving his face away from the door. "Hold on a second you bloody oaf! Just where do you think you're going?"

"_Asking Romulus to get us some more food_." He made it sound like the most obvious thing.

"You just ate an entire potato!"

"_But I have a werewolf appetite now!_" Alfred countered.

"You'll get fat!"

"_Artie! I need to eat some more food or I might die before sunrise!_" Alfred let out a whine and dramatically dropped to Arthur's feet.

"Oh please, you're overreacting. You won't keel over and die." Arthur rolled his eyes, waving off his whines.

"_But Artieeeeeeeeeee._" Even as a werewolf, his shrill whine buzzed annoyingly in Arthur's skull. He looked up at Arthur with his kicked puppy look. It helped since he was practically a big dog at the moment. He let out a small whimper, trying to seem adorable. "_Please? I promise I'll behave right afterwards!_"

Arthur frowned down at him, trying to say no. He should've learned from experience, when Alfred pulls that look, he can never say no. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes, bringing a hand up to rub at his temples. "Ugh, fine." He groaned out.

Alfred leapt up and let out a howl of victory, he bounced excitedly as Arthur dragged open the stone door.

"But you have to promise you'll settle down. I'll even read you a book. Also, you are to stay inside behind me, you cannot go out, do you understand?" Arthur said over his shoulder.

"_Yeah sure whatever." _He said all too quickly.

Arthur scowled but stuck his head out of the crack in the doorway. He took a deep breath and called out. "Romulus?"

After a few still minutes, Arthur was nudged from behind by Alfred who gave a wine, indicating for him to try again. Arthur glared down at the boy crouched on all fours. He looked back out of the room and took another deep breath, this time saying Romulus's name even louder.

Footsteps were soon heard and Arthur watched Ivan and Romulus round the corner, Romulus holding up his wand for light. He looked panicked when he spotted Arthur in the doorway. He stopped in front of him, Ivan right next to him.

"What's wrong Arthur? Is something the matter?" He searched Arthur's eyes.

Arthur felt a little bad making both of his professors run just because Alfred wanted some food. The small shove from behind quickly drew him out of his thoughts. He looked up into the concerned brown eyes of the potions teacher.

"Um yes… I'm really sorry about making you both run over here. You see, we've kind of… run out of food. And you know Alfred's appetite; the boy is demanding more food." He let out a forced chuckle. The whine of protest behind him made Romulus's and Ivan's eyes widen considerably. Arthur however, chose to ignore Alfred.

"Oh? I-is that all? Well we can see if there is some food still left." He gave a crooked smile.

Alfred's head was thrust out from under Arthur's arm, now in full view. Romulus jumped back slightly and Ivan quickly whipped out his wand, his body tense. Alfred let out a whine followed by a bark, his eyes dancing and saliva dripping from his mouth. Arthur scrunched up his nose in disgust at the sight.

"Honestly Alfred, you were supposed to stay inside!" Arthur sighed in frustration.

Alfred let out a low grunt and nudged Arthur, making the Brit stumble slightly. Arthur glared down at Alfred who looked up at him cheerily. Arthur scowled and looked back up at Romulus, clearing his throat slightly.

"Alfred would like for you to see if they have any sweets still." He informed Romulus.

Romulus blinked and glanced between the two of them, very relieved that his potion apparently worked. He and Ivan could understand that Arthur could talk to Alfred because of his gift. Romulus gave an unsure laugh and squatted down, bravely reaching out a hand and ruffling Alfred head. Alfred let out a happy bark and his ears pricked.

"I see, well I'll check alright? No promises." He smiled at them.

Alfred let out an excited yip, his eyes shining brightly. He yelped and lowered his head when Arthur abruptly smacked it, making Romulus jump in surprise.

"Don't be daft! Chocolate might kill you in this form!" He growled out.

Alfred's eyes grew wide and he let out a loud whimper. His ears drooped and his spirit seemed to diminish as if his entire world was crumbling down around him.

"_No way! I'd die if I couldn't eat chocolate again!_"

"You might die if you do eat it." Arthur rolled his eyes, oblivious to the horror he was telling Alfred.

Alfred backed up, a string of whimpers following him. "_No way! You're lying Artie!_" He ran back into the room, his claws clacking on the ground. Arthur whipped around and watched him run towards the cage. Alfred turned and barked at Arthur over his shoulder, "_Lying!_" He then tripped over a stray chair, toppling over with it and crashing into the back of the cage. Arthur winced and turned back to Romulus who was staring through the door with amusement printed on his face like war paint.

"He's like a big dog." He commented.

"Yes, but without any of the joy." Arthur grunted out.

Romulus let out a hearty laugh, grinning at Arthur. "Well Alright, we'll get Alfred's food. Be sure to keep him inside alright?"

Arthur nodded and closed the door after Romulus and Ivan started walking. He turned back to the cage which housed a frantic werewolf whining about how chocolate was life. He let out a long sigh, feeling the makings of a head ache appear.

When Romulus returned he had brought back a large tray piled on with four potatoes, carrots, a slice of cherry pie, and a new pot of tea for Arthur. The Brit had handled the food, kicking off a hyper American werewolf along the way. Romulus had watched from the doorway, clearly amused. When Arthur had set the tray of goods down he had bid Romulus farewell and that they would see him in the morning. Romulus then left, leaving Arthur to deal with the annoying boy.

Arthur sat at the table across from Alfred, sipping a new hot cup of tea daintily. Alfred stopped in his consumption of food to look up at Arthur, a half eaten potato in his hand. He watched as Arthur sipped his tea, his pinkie extended in an elegant manner.

He tilted his head, licking his jaws before asking, "_How come you drink tea like that?_"

Arthur sent him a peeved scowl. "Like what?" He asked, annoyed to be pulled from his calming Earl Gray.

"_You drink tea with your pinkie up._" He demonstrated with the potato, pretending it was a tea cup like Arthur's.

"It's common manners to extend your pinkie whilst drinking tea." Arthur huffed, going for another sip. He sighed when he could feel the tea work its magic, calming down his frizzled nerves.

"_It makes you look like a girl._" Alfred was unaffected by the venomous glare Arthur sent his way. He had long gotten used to the Brit's eyes that gleamed a dangerous, poisonous green whenever he was angry or annoyed.

"Well I never…." Arthur hissed out. He huffed, a faint embarrassed blush dusting his cheeks. He angrily set his empty cup down on its plate and grabbed the edge of the small saucer in one hand along with the tea pot in the other. Alfred watched Arthur storm past him and into the wide cage, setting the china down on the small table inside of it. He came back out, making a point to show he was angry. He rummaged through a small bag he had brought with him and pulled out a semi-thick book. He sent one last glare at Alfred before stomping back into the cage.

"_Dude Artie, where you going?_" Alfred let out that hyena-like laugh, knowing exactly what buttons he pushed. If anything, Arthur hated being compared to a girl the most.

"I'm going to settle myself down and read a book with company who won't ever make fun of me!" He snapped hotly.

"_And just what company is that?_" Alfred went back to messily eating.

"Myself!" And with that Arthur pulled open his book and glared down at the pages.

After around five minutes, Alfred glanced over at Arthur. The Brit had his feet tucked under him in the cushiony chair, his arms propped up on either side of him. The book was positioned on his lap and held by one hand. He would sometimes grab his tea cup and take a sip, his pinkie unconsciously extended. He then set his cup down and rested his book on his lap. He turned and took the tea pot, pouring more tea into the beautiful cup. He picked up his book and continued to read.

Alfred looked down at the food still left; there was at least one potato and a few of the carrots. He licked his jaws clean along with his hands before he abandoned the rest of the food, dropping to all fours and strolling over to Arthur. The boy didn't notice his approach until a pillow was thrown at the foot of the chair. He jumped in surprise and looked down at the pillow now being occupied by the werewolf. Alfred looked up at him in the light created by the lamp behind Arthur.

"_What'chya reading?_" His ears flicked forward.

"Well… Since my other book was sadly ruined, I have to read something else. It's a book on dragons though, such fascinating creatures. I would love to meet one someday." He mused slightly, no longer feeling angry at Alfred.

"_You think it'll be able to understand you?_"

"Maybe, I'm not even sure the creatures I can talk to. I didn't even know I could talk to you." Arthur smiled a bit.

"_Yeah but I'm different. What if it's a dragon you just run into and never met before? What if it attacks you?_" Alfred's eyes gave away the concern he was feeling.

"Then I'll need a hero to protect me, won't I?" He chuckled softly.

Alfred brightened up and if he could grin, he would. He nodded his head briskly. He leaned up and touched his wet nose to Arthur's book.

"_Can you read to me?_"

Arthur pretended to think about it, already knowing his answer without even needing to mull over it. "Oh I suppose…"

Alfred shifted so he was lying his head down on the pillow, his ears pricked to show he was listening attentively. Arthur cleared his throat and started on the new chapter, he could return back the previous chapter some other time.

"The Hungarian Horntail, a dragon native to Hungary." Arthur started after taking a sip of his tea.

Alfred's transformation went off without a hitch, the two boys fell asleep an hour later without incident. Though when they awoke, Alfred had panicked about the lack of clothing adorning his body. After a blushing Arthur asked Romulus for a pair of clothes, he and Alfred both headed down to breakfast. They said nothing on their way down, each to their own thoughts. Alfred had gone back to his table, eagerly chatting with his friends. Arthur had tiredly chatted with Jack while Gilbert and Antonio were hanging out at Francis's table. Arthur told himself to remember that sleeping in a chair in that odd position was not to happen again.

He finished his classes, meeting up with Alfred after school for his lessons with Vladimir. The Headmaster had gone easy on Arthur, simply using the time to chat about the previous night. He had spoken about how Alfred had surprised Romulus and Ivan, acting like he normally did. Romulus had been rather glad his potion had worked and had begun mass producing Wolfsbane, making sure they had enough for the future. Since the potion never went bad it was a pretty smart move.

They soon fell back into routine, going to their lessons and then to the docks every three days. Alfred had taken to accompanying Arthur _everywhere_, much to the Brit's displeasure. Arthur would yell at him when he tried to follow him into the bathroom. Alfred had simply stated that Arthur might drown in the toilet. That had earned him a smack to the back of the head and a door slammed in his face. The Brit had then refused to talk to him for the entire day.

Before they both knew it, Halloween was tomorrow on a Saturday. Alfred had decided to drag Arthur to town, keen on buying a costume. Arthur had protested at first, telling him he needed to save him money for buying his magical creature. Alfred had then told him he would chip in, much to the Brits objection.

_"Don't go wasting you money on someone else!" Arthur had scolded him._

_"I can spend it on whoever I want, it's my money." Alfred argued back._

_"That doesn't mean you have to. I can pay for myself." _

_"But you need to save your money don't you? You wanna have a cool magical creature. Oh hay, if I help you pay for your creature can I name it?" Alfred asked giddily._

_"And just what would you name it?" Arthur inquired._

_"Hero!"_

_"Yeah, hell no." Arthur stated bluntly._

_"Oh come on Artie! That's no fair! At least lemme help you take care of it!" Alfred whined._

_"Oh fine, you can help raise it, but you are not allowed to name it. I want it to have a powerful and carefully thought name." Arthur huffed._

_"When are you gonna go get your creature?" Alfred walked in sync with Arthur towards the shops in the quaint little town._

_"November 8__th__. So in like… two weeks?" Arthur couldn't hide the excitement dribbling in his voice. _

_"No way? Two weeks? Holy crap! This is gonna be awesome!" Alfred soon gained a skip in his step._

_"I agree, we'll be writing out the letters to our parents after Halloween. Then we'll be getting a letter of recognition from the Ministry of Magic once we buy and name them." Arthur smiled._

_"Wait wait wait, they'll send you the letter of ownership before they even know what your creature is? Isn't that kinda dangerous?" Alfred frowned._

_"I assume so, but they're the Ministry of Magic, they must know what they're doing. Anyways, the letter will mean that no one can take my pet without my consent." Arthur paused and frowned slightly, "Not that I will ever give them up. I will raise them like family, no matter what it is!" Arthur declared proudly._

_"So if you get something, like say... A dragon, you'll still keep it?" Alfred snickered._

_Arthur gave him a lighthearted shove followed by a scowl. "Don't be daft, as if I'll waltz into Diagon Alley and find a dragon." _

_"Well you never know." Alfred laughed when Arthur rolled his eyes in pure disbelief. _

Alfred and Arthur returned back to Hogwarts with their costumes in hand. Alfred had managed to sneak the money to the cashier when Arthur wasn't looking. That had angered the Brit when he realized Alfred had paid for everything. Alfred had brushed it off and laughed at Arthur's red face. Though by the time they reached the Slytherin dorms, Arthur had put away his pride after great struggle and muttered a quick and embarrassed "Thank you" to Alfred before running into the dorms and closing the door.

On Saturday everyone was enthusiastically waiting for the Halloween party to start. Everyone was invited and the only dress code was to wear your costume. Alfred had talked a mile a minute, not leaving the Brit's side once the entire morning. By the time lunch came around he had indeed left Arthur in favor of his other Gryffindor friends. Arthur had then taken to spending time with Gilbert, Antonio, and Francis.

"Dude, I'm so gonna spike the punch bowl like last time." Gilbert grinned in anticipation.

"With what? Butterbeer? Yes that will surely make everyone tipsy." Arthur rolled his eyes.

"You underestimate me kleine Baumschlange, I happen to have my own concoction I made." Gilbert laughed his annoying laugh.

"I hope it wasn't in potion's class, Mi Amigo, the last time you made something in potions class it ended in disaster." He smiled at Arthur and Francis, clarifying for them. "He mixed different types of potions and ingredients until he made a blue bubbly liquid. He drank some after forcing me to drink. We both ended up in the infirmary having our stomachs pumped. It took an entire week till we recovered."

"Oh please! It tasted fucking great!" Gilbert snorted.

"Our skin turned blue! Mine was an even darker blue!" Antonio couldn't help the laugh in his voice.

"But our skin turned back to normal after a week. But trust me, this time I've got it down! I made a killer drink and I promise you it'll knock your socks off." Arthur reminded himself to avoid the punch at all costs.

"Why can't they just have some red wine set out?" Francis sighed dramatically. "Oh these British schools never understand the importance of fine culture."

"Excuse me?" Arthur growled. "Well you French frogs don't seem to understand the terms '_hands off'_! Always making grabs and chasing after any skirt that swings your fancy."

"Mon cher, I am a lover of women and men alike! Why should I ignore the beauty god has blessed this world with? It is my duty to love every soul upon this earth, for they are all beautiful, non? Even some British folk have beauty, though my darling, you are not among them." He covered a hand over his mouth and laughed scornfully.

Arthur scowled, flipping of the blond male. "Like I would ever want to be flirted with by you. That's bloody disgusting frog! Don't even make sick jokes like that!"

Gilbert grabbed Francis around the shoulders, draping on him. He snickered mischievously. "Besides, what's your little Canadian rabbit gonna say if he catches you flirting with other people?"

"You won't win his heart like that Francis; you'll most likely just push him away with your frivolous flirting." Antonio chuckled softly.

Francis blushed, growing flustered. "There is nothing between me and Matthew! How many times must I tell you that?"

"Now come on Franny, don't go lying to us. Spill it, you wanna bang the kid." Gilbert indiscreetly stated.

Francis blinked before seeming to give it thought. "Well… I admit I might've had that thought on occurrence… But I wouldn't go for him unless it was consensual." He declared proudly.

Arthur groaned and stood up from the small stone wall they were sitting on. He covered his ears, not wanting to hear them talk about banging his friend. "I'm going to go get ready. It's already 4 and the party starts at 6."

"What the hell? Are you a girl or something? You don't need two damn hours to get ready." Gilbert groaned out. Arthur ignored him and quickly trotted down the hall towards the Slytherin rooms.

Arthur hummed, tying the semi-large bow in front of him. He looked into the mirror and nodded his head, opening his mouth and holding up his wand. He used the tooth elongating spell and grew out his canine teeth, using the counter spell and stopping them before they grew too long. He closed his mouth and examined his work; his now long fangs were barely poking out of his lips. He grinned and leaned back, doing a full spin in front of the mirror. He looked at the window and placed his hands on his hips.

"Well? How do I look?" He asked his Grindylow friends. They chittered happily, all adding their own comments of approval.

Arthur was dressed in an azure cape that pooled down to the floor, lying in a slightly small pile. Black gloves were pulled onto his elegant hands, going up slightly past his wrists. He had on a matching vest and tiny top hat with black satin wrapped around it to add more accents. The miniature top hat was tilted slightly to the side, holding on by a hair band lost in his golden locks. Under the vest he had on a long sleeved button up shirt that was a brownish gray with darker brown stripes going up and down the garment. He wore a pair of creamy tanish slacks that hung around a pair of shiny dress shoes. Alfred had bought the cape, top hat, and vest for Arthur, the Brit had done the rest. He looked back into the mirror, rechecking the small amount of makeup he added. If asked he would deny using any, but he had indeed used a few cosmetics. He had added some mascara and liquid eyeliner to add more affect. He didn't need to pale his cheeks; he already had such milk white skin.

He grinned, showing off his fangs once more before giving another spin. "Alright! I'm ready. I'd best go and get Alfred huh? He did say he would come and get me. I'll have to go out of the common room; he can't exactly get in without the password."

He jumped when there was a knock at the door and it was suddenly slammed open.

"Hay Artie! Gilbert let me in and pointed me to your room! Let's go already." Alfred bellowed.

Alfred was dressed in an old cowboy getup. He had on the usual brown hat along with the spurs on his boots. He had a red bandanna tied around his neck and a white button down shirt. He also had on a tan vest with a gold star pinned to his chest pocket. A large brown trench coat was also on his person, reaching down to his knees. He had on dirty jeans with a rope attached to his hip. He tipped back his hat, his silver blue eyes widening slightly.

"Woah dude." He breathed in awe. He broke into a wide grin, running up to Arthur. "Dude you look awesome! The cape seriously makes your eyes stand out!" He gave a twirl of his finger, indicating for Arthur to spin for him.

Arthur blushed a deep red, embarrassed. He gave a quick twirl, his cape swishing around his feet. Alfred let out a whistle, embarrassing Arthur even more.

"Y-you look nice too…" He muttered.

Alfred gasped in surprise before grabbing Arthur's face, tying to force his mouth open. Arthur let out a noise of surprise while Alfred held his jaws apart.

"Woah holy crap dude!" He exclaimed. "Your teeth! I thought it was those plastic doodads but you were talking fine and not with a lisp! Turns out that they were your actual teeth! How'd you grow them out? Did you use a spell?"

"Oi!" Gilbert was leaning in the doorway, a portion of his costume on. He had on pure white trousers that bellowed out above his scuffed up black boots. He had on a white button down shirt with a brownish tan vest on. Around his neck was a silky white sash that spilled out in ruffles over his chest. He wore black leather gloves, a stark contrast to the white he mostly wore. On his hip was what appeared to be a sword in its black and gold sheath. His red eyes practically glowed against the white of his clothes.

The albino sent them a smirk before speaking once more. "Stop making out and let's get going. Me, Franny, and Tony will leave with you guys. Wait for us in the common room, were almost ready."

Arthur and Alfred sprang apart, both of them blushing brightly. "We weren't kissing Gilbert!" Alfred almost yelled.

"Ass…" Arthur hissed hotly at him. He paused before tilting his head. "What on earth are you dressing up as anyways?"

"I'm dressing up as a pirate, so is Franny and Tony. We're gonna be so badass! We'll definitely win the costume contest, just watch!" He turned around and left the room, his cackling laughter following him.

Alfred blinked before shrugging and grabbing Arthur's hand, dragging him out with him. "Well we might as well wait! I wanna see their costumes too!"Arthur rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless. He trailed after Alfred, letting him pull him towards the common room.

When Francis, Antonio, and Gilbert came out of the 7th year's dorms, Arthur and Alfred were both in silent awe. They were dressed up as pirates, sure, but the colour choice went against each other yet complimented each other in a strange way. Gilbert was now in his full outfit, the only addition being a coat, sash, and hat. The coat went down past his knees and consisted of red and dark navy blue with gold rims and golden buckles on the sleeves. The sash was wrapped over one shoulder and hung at the waist before turning to lead up behind his back and attach to the other end that rested on his shoulder. It was white with a pair of golden lines leading down on either side. There were two brown buckles on the sash to add more detail to it. He had on a red jewel piercing for each ear. His hat was black with a golden rim on the edge; a large red rose was pinned to the front of it. He had a long fluffy feather spilling over the side of the hat and resting over his shoulder slightly. His red eyes glowed in the dim light, standing out against his pale skin and white hair.

Antonio had on black slacks that were tucked into a pair of black boots. He wore a loose white shirt and a silver chain around his neck, a cross hanging from the accessory. On one ear was a single lime green tear drop earring. His coat was a dark shade of green with gold accents outlining parts of his coat and looking simply divine. Gold buttons adorned his coat sleeves and chest folds. In his hand was a rather large wooden ax painted to look real, which it very much did. His messy brown hair had a red sash tied around it with a black tricorne hat sitting atop his head. It also had a white feather spilling down the side. What also caught Arthur's eye were the wavy brown extensions he was wearing. He was using them so his hair would appear longer. He had it pulled over his shoulder, a simple red ribbon keeping it all together.

Francis was dressed in elegant bundles of blue and gold. His hat, a sky blue, was the French style tricorne with white lace along the rim. On the side were three large king roses that were pinned together with a golden bow, its silky ends leading a bit over the side of the hat. His coat was the same sky blue, the inside a darker, deep blue. It fell at his knees, the ends having a small amount of white lace. Jewels of red and gold decorated his sleeves, accenting them perfectly. A few ruffles pooled out of the sleeves thanks to his shirt. He had on a silken white sash with white lace at the end that spilled out in ruffles along his chest, covering parts of his dark blue vest. The vest was kept together by the brown leather pieces sewn onto the ends, pulled together by leather strips. He wore black, tight-fitting pants that were neatly tucked into dark brown boots that were folded over at the top. At his waist was an elegantly designed fencing sword. Two gold chains hung from his belt loop and were attached to a belt loop on his backside. He also wore blond extensions, the ribbon holding his hair together was designed to have the colours of the French flag.

Alfred's mouth fell open in his obvious surprise. "Oh wow… you guys look freaking awesome!" He cried out excitedly.

"I know right? We were hanging around an antique store and found them. I told you we're going to win for sure! You pansy's better vote for us!" Gilbert pointed a gloved finger at the two third years.

Arthur chuckled, standing up from the couch. "Fine, whatever. Let's just go you bloody pirates."

Alfred snickered and jumped up, hooking his arm under Arthur's. The group then left the Slytherin common room at exactly 6:28. They headed towards the party, chatting animatedly to one another. They pushed open the large doors into the great hall. The tables had all been cleared to make it a ball room. However, one table still stood in the far corner holding all kinds of food. Pressed to the far back were a few smaller tables for people to sit and rest their feet or eat their food. There were many different costumes littering the entire room. Near where the teachers usually sat was a DJ. He had raven black hair with pink highlights. His headphones were black with hot pink markings, the Virgo sign printed on the side of them. He had on a checkered white and blue sleeveless hoodie. In front of him was a large crowd of people all dancing to the music he was playing.

Arthur glanced around only to realize he was standing alone. Francis, Gilbert, Antonio, and Alfred had all disappeared somewhere. Arthur frowned slightly before shaking his head. _No! I will not feel depressed on such a night! This is a time for fun!_ He scolded himself.

"Arthur! Nǐ hǎo, over here!"

Arthur turned to the voice and blinked in surprise. Over at a table sat Kiku and Yao. Arthur drew his brows together, _when on earth had they made up? _He shook his head, discarding his thoughts. He walked over to them, catching the full view of their costumes.

Kiku was dressed in a grayish blue kimono with a dark gray sash around his waist. He had on a pair of black fox ears along with a black tail coming from somewhere behind him. The tail was resting on his lap so he wasn't sitting on it.

Yao had on a light pink Chinese dress that cutoff at his knees and was devoid of sleeves. It had a high neck collar and had dark pink sakura petal designs along the bottom of the dress. It had white accents that posed as the latches to keep it in place. Yao had on his own pair of brown ears and tail. Apparently he and Kiku were both dressed up as foxes. Arthur could tell that Yao was wearing makeup, maybe some mascara and eyeliner along with some blush and lip gloss. It looked good on the feminine man, making him look like a woman more than ever. He waved to Arthur, a golden bracelet on his wrist. He could see that it was in the shape of a dragon, coiling around the petite male's thin wrist. His hair was pulled back into a bun with a portion on either side of his head down to cup his face.

"Nǐ hǎo Arthur, you look really cool!" Yao grinned happily. Arthur smiled and pulled out a seat, sitting with the two oriental men.

"Hai, I agree with Yao. Your vampire costume is very believable. Your teeth are even the right size." Kiku nodded hello politely.

"Thank you. I just love your costumes, they're very exquisite." Arthur smiled, returning the compliment.

"Arigatō." Kiku mumbled quietly.

"Xièxiè." Yao hummed happily. "Kiku and I are both kitsune's! They're foxes that live in japan, aru. They take on the form of humans and trick men. They mischievous to people, it very troublesome."

"Oh? I think I might go to Japan someday then. I would love to see them." Arthur smiled.

"Ah! Then Kiku can show you around, ne? Right kiku?" Yao looked at him expectantly.

Kiku appeared to grow troubled by what Yao had said. Arthur quickly intervened before the Japanese man could speak. "Oh it's quite alright. I wouldn't want to be a burden."

"No, it is alright. It would be rude of me not to show you around my homeland." Kiku gave a slightly relieved smile.

Yao blinked and pouted. "Now I wanna visit Kiku's home too, aru."

Kiku looked back at Yao and drew his brows together. "Yao, you spent the entire summer at my home last year. You need to spend the summer with your family too."

"Aya! You so mean!" Yao whined. "Then you come stay at my home this summer! Nǎinai say she want to see you, not see you in so long!" Yao's slightly broken English always fascinated Arthur for some odd reason.

Arthur tuned out slightly from their one-sided bickering. He gazed at the dancing crowd, not really registering anything that was happening. He didn't notice the person behind him nor the shushes given to Kiku and Yao. It wasn't until his chair was yanked back did Arthur snap out of his trance. He let out a yelp and jumped forward in fright. His legs toppled out underneath him and he landed back against the chair. With his heart ramming against his ribcage a mile a minute, he glared up into the soft blue eyes protected by glasses.

"Alfred Jones, you could have killed me!" Arthur growled out.

"But I didn't" Alfred grinned down at him.

"Well you nearly could've!" He snapped.

Alfred simply chuckled and set his chair down back on all fours. "What're you doing sitting here Artie?"

"I was talking before you so rudely interrupted." He lied through his teeth.

"No you weren't. You stare at people dancing while you just sit there. You no say anything, aru." Yao waved his hand, completely destroying Arthur's lie.

"Yao…" Kiku warned softly.

"Ha! See? You were doing nothing! Therefore it's my job as the hero to save you from your boredom!" Alfred declared happily.

"Wah- I'm not bored!" Arthur tried to protest but Alfred heard none of it. He grabbed Arthur's wrist and yanked him up, dragging him towards the dance floor.

"Come on Artie! Let's go dance! It'll be fun!" He hummed.

"No! I don't want to! Alfred, you wanker, listen to me when I'm talking to you! Alfred!" Arthur continued to shout protests as he tried to pull out of Alfred's grip. His crazy werewolf strength prevented it; he kept a firm yet gentle hold on Arthur's wrist. Arthur soon came to realize this was a fate he wasn't escaping.

The party ended at 10 with the announcement of the costume contest winners. In the group costume section, Gilbert, Antonio, and Francis all won first place. However, since Gilbert had spiked the punch bowl with an odd coloured drink, they had been disqualified. Vladimir had entered him and Arthur in the contest; they had both been coincidently dressed up as vampires. They had been in second place but had taken first because of the disqualification. The funniest costume winner was Jack who had dressed up in a giant koala outfit. The winner of the cutest costume was Yao. The scariest costume went to Ivan who wasn't actually dressed up. He had been standing in the corner with his creepy childish smile and had scared most of the students.

Arthur, surprisingly, had loads of fun; Alfred had occupied him most of the night. Though he had disappeared around 9 to hang out with his friend, which was when Arthur hung around Vladimir, Romulus, and Germania. Romulus was dressed up as a roman solider and Germania was dressed up as an old Germanic solider. Germania had talked to Arthur, informing him that they would start sending out the letters next week. Arthur didn't try to hide his excitement in front of the German.

Arthur was returning to his dorm, tired and carrying the first place winnings. It was a ticket to free Butterbeer for an entire year, something Vladimir had been rather ecstatic about. He set it down on one of the desks and stripped into nothing but his boxers. He folded his clothes and set them on his trunk before going to his bed and tucking himself in. He let out a long sigh, sleep already taking a hold of him. He let out a soft hum of satisfaction, eager to get some much needed rest. Arthur soon drifted off and lost all awareness to the world outside of his dreams.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I'm really happy how this chapter came out! Sorry for the string of cliff hangers! I can't promise that there won't be any more of them, if the story goes how I want it then I know there will be cliff hangers in the future. If you stick with me, then i'd want for this story to go a bit longer, maybe a little past 15 chapters. I have a big plan for their 4th year! I also plan to do an epilogue at the end, I'm deciding if it should be rated M or stay at a rated T. I know my future two stories i have in mind **_will_ **be rated M though. Anywho, on a future note, i will be editing my stories by myself from now on. I thank my editors for their help, i'm immensely grateful! Thank you for your support throughout my writing. Like I've said before I love reading your reviews. They keep me going and make me want to write even more and update faster for you guys! Lately the parts i've uploaded have ranged from only 7000 words to 8000 words, i was wondering if you'd rather have me write some longer parts or just keep it the length i'm at. Your opinions and thought's will be greatly loved! Do tell me how you think this chapter went, i'd love to hear your thoughts! Thank you once again!

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"We will now begin writing letters to your parents requesting their permission to let you adopt and keep a magical creature. Make sure to put in your letter that it is very important for your studies and not having one can make your grade suffer horribly." The icy-blue eyed German smirked, "That usually makes parents say yes."

Arthur took his quill and smiled at his owl perched on the edge of his desk. Each person in the class had their own owl ready so they could deliver the letters as soon as they were finished. Arthur rubbed his index finger under William's chin, rubbing down his soft feathers. The owl fluffed itself up in delight and watched Arthur as the boy began to write.

"_Dearest Mother and Father,_

_ I am writing to you to ask your permission to buy and keep a magical creature for my class. I am unsure as to what I am buying, but I will make sure it's in my budget. I also got your letter, apologies for not writing back to you, a whole lot has been going on lately. I understand that you and father will be visiting grandmother up in Wales; therefore I'll stay at the school for winter break. Thank you once more, it would please me greatly if you would consider allowing me to purchase a creature. I have been told it will count for a big portion of my grade. It will also prepare me for my future career, I intend to raise magical creatures, or at least work with them. I figured it would be the best way to use my gift. Sorry for bothering you and I hope to hear from you soon, we'll be picking the creatures next week. I'm rather excited, I've already thought up a few names. Again, sorry for bothering you and I hope you're both feeling wonderful._

_ With Love,_

_** Arthur**"_

Arthur looked over his letter and nodded in satisfaction. He folded it and put it in the envelope and stamped it with the wax seal. He pet William's head before holding up the letter.

"Make sure this get's safely to mum and dad alright? No detours just because you fancy a mouse along the way." Arthur chuckled.

William let out a stuffy "Hoo", ruffling his feathers. He took the letter into his beak and flapped his wings. He leapt off the desk and flew out the open window; a few other owls following with their own letters in toll. Matthew was just sending off his snowy white barn owl, giving it a loving pat on the head. He smiled at the creature, holding up a finger and acting serious.

"Now don't get lost, make sure you stop to rest if you need it. Don't lose the letter okay? Stay safe and out of harm's way." He smiled and his owl bounced once before flying off.

Arthur watched it go before looking back at Germania. Germania cleared his throat and waited for the last owl to fly out before he addressed the class.

"Now, we need to prepare you rooms for your creature. Those that can stay in the stable will be there. You are required to buy its food and bathe it. When we buy it, the very next day we will also write a letter to the Ministry of Magic telling them the name of your creature. They will send you a certificate saying they acknowledge your ownership. Be sure you're ready for this responsibility; Hogwarts is the only school who is doing such an activity." He surveyed the class. "Any questions?"

A boy in the back, a Gryffindor chap, raised his hand. "Oh! Mr. Beilschmidt sir, what if our creature eats meat?"

"There can be instances where such things happen. However, if you get something that does consume meat then you will be required to be with it at all times. We don't want it eating any of the other animals on campus. You will also be able to buy some meat from the town actually; there are some stores that sell rats so you can buy that." Germania inclined his head towards the boy.

Arthur bit his bottom lip and raised his hand slowly. Germania nodded towards him and the Brit spoke. "So we are allowed to get anything? Is it required to be a newborn?"

"Not particularly. But it would be most advised, it'll provide more study for you." The professor responded.

"But what if we get different creatures? Will we have to study them ourselves?" A girl shouted out.

Germania sent her a warning stare before crossing his arms over his chest and leaning against his desk. "Actually, we will have a system set up. You will make observations on your pet every week, jotting down anything going on with your pet. It can range from food it likes to its sleeping habits."

There were a few collective murmurs from students, most of them oozing excitement. Germania let it go on before he raised his hand, cutting off their chatter. "Now, since we still have a large amount of time, we'll need to write up plans. Where your creature will sleep, where will it go when you are on break, etc. We will get to the rest when you actually get your creature. Now, take out a piece of parchment and we will begin."A few of the students groaned in response, having just wanted to laze around for the rest of the period.

Arthur got a letter from his parents two days later; they had told him clearly that they would allow him to buy the creature, but that he was in charge of it. In the letter his mother had also stated that she was expecting, needless to say Arthur was beyond ecstatic over the news. He had actually gone seeking out his brothers just to share the good news. They expressed their excitement on a lesser level. When Alfred caught wind of the news, he was bouncing with excitement. Even though he wasn't family, he still seemed to be the most excited. When asked about it, Alfred would simply say, "A new life is being born, what isn't there to be excited about?" The wise statement took Arthur by surprise, making the Brit rather suspicious of the American's 'lack of intelligence'.

Before Arthur new it, November 8th was today on a cold Wednesday. Arthur woke up at the scary time of 4:15, not being able to get much of any sleep. He was ready and sitting on his trunk, chatting happily to the few Grindylows that had woken up to keep the Brit company.

"Oh I just can't sit still! I want to go and pick something out now!" He bounced his legs in excitement. "What will I get? Will it be a boy or a girl? Oh I can't decide!" He was nearly shaking in anticipation.

"_Why don't you use your gift? Reach out to a creature you're compatible with and one that shares a soul connection to you. I'm pretty sure you'll pick something awesome. Maybe it's a unicorn, like your Patronus!"_ A Grindylow flipped in the air, chittering happily.

"Oh yes! That's such a good idea! Though, I just have to figure out how to do that…" His spirit diminished slightly.

"_You'll know when the time is right. It's just like how you learned to reach out to us!_"

"_Can't be too hard right?_"

"I hope not." Arthur glanced at the clock on the wall and nearly squealed, he had spent an hour talking and by now they were serving breakfast. "Well I'd better get going, I want to be full and done before we leave. I'll be sure to show you the one that connects to me!"

Arthur waved bye and left the room, quickly going out of the common room. He was being excused from all of his lessons for the day, well, except for Vladimir's anyways. He made his way towards the Great Hall, humming the English national anthem along the way. He opened the doors and slipped in, only a few students actually there. He silently cursed at how early he was. Arthur sighed and sat down, forcing himself not to bounce in his seat. _You're not a child! Quit acting like it! You are a gentleman, no need to show how exited you are. Even if it's bloody hard not to…._ Arthur grumbled at his own thoughts.

He glanced up when the doors opened. "Dude Alfred, you're never this early. What happened? Too busy playing your video games?"

"Did you pull an all night again?"

The annoying voices of the male Gryffindor students filtered in. Alfred trailed after them, his hair and clothes a mess. He was rubbing one eye tiredly, stifling a wide yawn.

"It isn't my fault! I couldn't sleep. I was way too excited for today." Arthur heard Alfred whine.

"Why? We don't have anything planned for today. We don't right?" One of them asked, growing confused.

"Hm? No not us, it's because Arthur-" He glanced up and spotted Arthur. His dulled expression brightened and he ran for Arthur's table, leaving his friends dumbfound. He sat down in front of Arthur, grinning as if he just won a year's supply of chocolate. "Arthur! Aren't you excited? You couldn't sleep either right? Today's the day!" He was practically yelling.

"Alfred, for God's sake do calm down." He couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips, spilling out his glee in waves. "But yes, I'm beyond thrilled to be picking out my magical creature."

"Well when are you leaving? I need to give you the money I have to help pitch in." Alfred took to bouncing on the wooden bench, expressing his and Arthur's enthusiasm effectively.

"Alfred," Arthur frowned, "You don't have to do that."

"Nope!" He smacked a hand over Arthur's mouth, preventing any other forms of speech to emit from the boy. "Do not go telling me I don't have to spend my money on you. I'm not spending it on you; I'm spending it on our future pet!"

Arthur pulled his hand away. "Our?"

"Yep! You promised I could help you take care of it!" He chirped happily.

"Dude Alfred. This is the Slytherin table." Alfred's friends had finally come to retrieve the American.  
"Let's go to our table, the _Gryffindor_ table where only _Gryffindor_ students can sit." One of them glared pointedly at Arthur. He didn't care however; he wasn't going to let these blokes destroy his good mood.

"Nah, you guys go on ahead. I'm gonna stay here with Artie for a bit. Other houses can sit here right?" Alfred grinned at Arthur, bluntly ignoring his friend's presence.

"Um well… Gilbert and Antonio let Francis sit here almost all the time." Arthur awkwardly answered.

"Well Gilbert is like your house boss… under Ivan that is. So it's cool if I sit here since he lets Francis sit here." Alfred nodded happily.

He began chatting about what creature Arthur should get, not noticing his friends leaving. Arthur watched them go before finally tuning into what Alfred was going off about.

"You should get something really strong so I can wrestle with it. Oh! And it should be real cool too. But you know, if you wanna get a unicorn, that's cool too I guess. But since you won't let me name it then you have to get a male at least! But, if you wanna get a girl I guess that's fine. It is your pet you know? I mean, do what you want. Oh but I really think it should have wings, I wanna fly again! I missed my chance of flying on a living creature. I wanna see if it's any different from flying on a broom. Ah, you might not want to fly since you stink at it huh? Maybe-"

"Alfred. Shut up." The Brit laughed, stopping the boy from continuing.

Alfred pouted before his uppity mood was back and he started chatting animatedly to Arthur. Time passed by quickly and more students started filling in. Jack came in and when his eyes landed on Alfred, a sour expression graced his features. He made a point to sit next to Arthur, making his presence known.

"Ello mate, nice day ain't it?" He asked in a rather aggravated tone.

"Oh, hello Jack…" Arthur raised a brow at him. "What's wrong? You're acting as if a dingo's gone and jumped in your pants."

This made Jack smile, a small chuckle coming from him. He always found it funny when Arthur tried to talk like an Australian; he made fun of Arthur by pretending like he was British.

"That's not the only thing jumping in my pants." He winked suggestively and Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Oh god, you're only a first year! What could you possibly be getting?"

"I happen to be a killer with the pommy lady's. They find my accent to be rather sexy." He laughed.

"You need to stop hanging out with Francis; he's poisoning your mind." Arthur chuckled. He looked across the table at Alfred when he had cleared his throat. "Oh right, excuse my manners. You guys have never met before right? Jack, this is Alfred, a Gryffindor third year. Alfred, this is Jack, a Slytherin first year."

"Howdy." Alfred grunted.

"Hay." Jack threw back uninterestedly. "So what's this I hear of Arthur getting a pet?"

"Well Artie is gonna go pick out a magical creature for his class. He's letting me help take care of it." Alfred beat Arthur to answering.

"Oh really?" Jack raised a brow.

"Yes, I'm still deciding on a name. I have a few ideas but I'm still thinking. I want it to be good. I'll need to know if it's male or female first." Arthur admitted.

"Just pick a gender neutral name." Jack shrugged his shoulders.

"Ah! Do my eyes deceive me? A Gryffindor at our table?" The supercilious French accent grated on Arthur's nerves. Despite his happy mood, he glared up at Francis.

"This isn't your table either Frog." He growled.

Francis flipped his hair over his shoulder and let out a haughty laugh, plopping down next to Alfred.

"Oh mon cher, I sit here often enough so it might as well be. You aren't going to be so low and say this is a table for only Slytherin's, are you?"

"I would never say that and you damn well know it! I just don't take kindly to the Frenchy type!" Arthur was about to stand out of his seat but Jack pulled him down by his sleeve.

"You're just jealous because my eyebrows are _perfect_" He snorted in contempt.

"Leave my eyebrows out of this!" He tightened his hands into fists. "Or else I'll be pulling at that mop you call hair! Ever hear of a hair cut?"

Francis gasped in horror at the suggestion. "You wouldn't dare touch my beautiful locks!"

"Try me." Arthur threatened.

"Hay, come on guys. Lighten up the mood, your bumming me out!" Alfred nudged Francis non to kindly, smiling at Arthur.

"Alfred is right; it is too petty for someone of my standards to fight such an uncivilized man." Francis turned up a nose, "hmping" dramatically.

"Why you…" Arthur growled.

"Yoo hoo! Alfred!" They all turned to look at the Gryffindor table where Jessica was waving at them, or more specifically, Alfred.

The American smiled even brighter and stood up. "Hay guys, I'm gonna go back to my table alright? Arthur, don't leave until I give you the money understood?"

The Brit's heart plummeted and he forced a small unconvincing smile. "Roger." He managed to say. He watched Alfred prance back over to his table, chatting happily to Jessica. Arthur's enthusiasm appeared to leave with Alfred, his smile turning down into a frown as he watched the boy's retreating back.

Francis turned back around and gave Arthur a sad, knowing smile. "Tough luck…"

"Oh piss off…" Arthur grumbled without much bite.

Jack glanced between him and Alfred, who was laughing merrily. He rolled his eyes and nudged Arthur. "Oi, don't be getting bent outa shape over nothing. So tell us some of the names you picked out for your pet."

"Um well…." Arthur brightened up slightly. "I've actually got a few written down." He pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket with his scribbling on it in his fancy blue ink.

"Stay close to one another and do not go anywhere I didn't approve of! I don't want any missing students when I return to Hogwarts! I want the same amount as I left with. You've got an hour to pick and buy your creature from the MC Emporium. You are not allowed to leave the store till everyone is ready. Have I made myself clear?" Germania narrowed his eyes at the restless students.

"Yes professor Beilschmidt." They all shouted quickly.

"…" He glanced over them before saying, "Keep a calm level head or else. Now go and pick." He shooed them off and everyone dispersed, fleeing off in groups.

Matthew and Arthur headed in, awed at the sight before them. Row upon row of cages and pens lined the wide store, magical creatures of all kinds in each pen. There were even some normal looking animals, but being in a magical world they must've had a quirk or two. Matthew's eyes danced with a light Arthur hadn't seen before, the boy was shivering in anticipation.

"Where shall we check first?" His voice was shaking, telling Arthur that Matthew was struggling not to dart off and check out every single pen.

Arthur hesitated, he wanted to use his gift and find a creature. He bit his bottom lip and smiled at Matthew. "You go on ahead; I'm going to stick back for a bit."

Matthew looked torn as he glanced back at Arthur. The Brit gave him an assuring nod and the maple loving boy hesitantly began walking away. "Well okay then, if you're sure…"

Once left alone, Arthur moved off to the side where a row of empty cages were set up. He then took a deep breath and closed his eyes, reaching out with his _sight_ for the creature matching his soul. Arthur stood completely still for a good 5 minutes. He drew his brows together in concentration; there were voices all around him. Animals shouting to be picked and some were squealing about random things. He even heard some wailing as they were picked. But he didn't hear anything that stood out to him. He took in a deep breath in order to calm himself, letting it out slowly.

_Ignore the irrelevant sounds, they don't matter. Focus on your own heart; find a beat that suits you. Find a heart that beats in sync with yours._ Arthur heard a voice tell him. He blinked and opened his eyes, looking up. Sitting on a cage in front of him was a Phoenix, it had graying feathers and showed that it would soon burn and be reborn in a matter of hours or days. It stared at Arthur with black beady eyes, nodding its wise head slowly.

"_Close your eyes and try again young sight seeker. Your creature will call out to you. Just focus on your heart beat, its heart with call out to yours._" It told Arthur.

Arthur nodded slowly, closing his eyes once again. If he should listen to anyone, it should be a Phoenix who appeared to have had had many lives. He took shallow breaths, focusing on the steady thump of his heart. All noise around him died and all he heard was they rhythm his heart was playing out. Suddenly, another beat joined his heart's dance. It beat with such ferocity and power, a pace or two faster than Arthur's, but still made a steady weave and thump with his own beat.

Arthur's eyes snapped open and he gasped when he felt a sudden tug in the depths of his heart. He looked at where he felt he needed to go, he was staring right at the doors leading out into Diagon Alley. He looked up at the Phoenix.

"It's pulling me outside. It isn't in here." He informed the bird.

It spread its wings and bellowed a mighty cry. "_Then go! Leave not your spiritual connection! Go forth and find it young sight seeker. It calls out to you!_" The bird cried.

Arthur bit his lip and was about to say he wasn't allowed to leave, but thought better of it. The bird was wise, it should be right shouldn't it? He had to follow the tugging of his soul, the creature reaching out to him. He nodded abruptly and turned, seeking out Germania. The professor was helping one of the Gryffindor girls buy her creature; his attention was obviously on the girl only. He whispered a thank you before slipping out of the Emporium and out into the hustle and bustle of Diagon Alley. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

_Point me in the right direction…_ He thought to himself. He felt the same jolt and his eyes snapped open. His feet moved as if they had a mind of their own. Arthur ran down the path and turned left, going down a wide set of steps. The alley thinned out and he took another turn then another. After a distinct set of twist and turns he walked out into an open path were a few wizards and witches were loitering.

His focus shifted past the people at a tiny broken shop set up against the wall, a few interesting selections placed on the table and to the sides of it. He walked towards it and tried to hear past the thudding in his ears. The heartbeat he heard before was now ringing in Arthur's ears as if to chant how close he was. Arthur stopped in front of the store; a man with a hood pulled over his head was standing behind the broken stand. Next to him was a lemur that curled its tail around the man's covered wrist. From the air he put off, he seemed surprised at Arthur's presence.

"Oh? Such a young face in such a dark place. May I interest you in what I have to sell?" He chuckled under his cloak.

Arthur swallowed and nodded to the man. The hooded figure clapped his hands happily and turned around, the lemur jumping up his back to climb and settle on his shoulder. He turned back around with a basket full of little trinkets and knickknacks. Arthur spoke before the man had a chance to say anything.

"Actually, I'm looking for a creature." His voice wavered slightly.

The man tilted his head to the side. "Oh? Well not to worry! I happen to sell creatures too!" He ducked under the little table he had set up, lost under the cloth covering it. He came out and pulled out a few jars with strange creatures in them Arthur had never seen before. They snarled nasty words in their language that Arthur grimaced at. However, the heart beat in his ears seemed to tug his own heart. Arthur glanced behind the man at a basket on the floor covered with a velvety cloth. The heart beat jumped as if saying, "_You found me!_"

Arthur blinked and hesitantly pointed at the basket. "Um, what about what's in there?"

The man looked over his shoulder and down at the basket. "Eh? Oh right! I forgot I even had this! You're very lucky, this is my last one! I traveled all the way from Hungary to get such a reptile as this." He picked up the basket and pulled back the cloth to reveal a large egg that was slightly bigger than a football. Arthur blinked in surprise and tilted his head, _what on earth is in there?_ The egg was cement-coloured and looked particularly thick in the dim light. Arthur tentatively reached out a hand that was more or less smacked away.

"Ah ah! No touching unless bought. That'll be 200 gold pieces please." He held out his hands and wriggled his fingers.

"200?" Arthur nearly wailed. "But…" He pulled out the satchel of coins he did have. He had gotten 40 from Alfred, much to Arthur's protest, and had 35 all on his own. His mother had also sent him 10 with her letter. He bit his bottom lip and mumbled. "I don't have nearly as much. I only have 85…"

A sudden pang stabbed in his heart, it was sadness beyond what he had ever felt before. In an extreme wave it had taken over the boy and Arthur could tell it just wasn't his sadness, whatever was in the egg was feeling it too. Arthur was even surer that this was the creature he had to get no matter what. He bit his bottom lip again and looked up pleadingly to the hooded man.

"Please, you don't understand. I… well, it's hard to explain-" He started but was cut off.

The man looked at the lemur on his shoulder. "What do you think Wulu? Should I give it to him cheaper?"

"_The poor boy looks near tears; you should be kind enough and help him out._" The lemur, Wulu, said.

"Hm I guess, but that isn't really a valid reason. When have I ever been moved by a kid's tears?"

Arthur blinked in surprise and gaped at them. "You can understand her? You mean you have the _sight_?"

The man and Wulu both looked at Arthur. The man tilted his head to the side. "Is that what they're calling it? Why? You have it too?" Arthur nodded briskly and the man clapped in joy. "Well then this changes everything! Since the _sight_, as you say it's called, is so rare, I'll give you this egg for your measly 85. Don't tell anyone else about it or it'll put me out of business."

Arthur nearly cried out in joy but chose to keep face. He smiled brightly and nodded, picking up the basket after handing the satchel over. He didn't expect the large weight for just one egg, but it wasn't too overwhelming for him. When he made to leave he was suddenly stopped by the shady clerk.

"Hay kid?"

"Yes?" Arthur looked at him over his shoulder, the basket held tightly in his arms.

"That thing called out to you, didn't it?" Arthur only responded with a slow nod. The man looked at the lemur before back at Arthur. "Well then good luck. Make sure you keep it warm, reptiles are sensitive to the cold."

"Yes…" Arthur looked down at the egg. "Excuse me, but what egg is it? I mean what species?"

"You'll just have to find out for yourself! Come back and show me it when it's older you hear? In exchange for the cheep price!"

Arthur looked back at the man and gave him a thankful smile. "Yes, I will. Thank you!"

With that Arthur retraced his steps and back to the MC Emporium. Everyone was already outside with their creature; Germania was counting the kids furiously. When he spotted Arthur he called him over harshly. Arthur sheepishly walked over, his eyes trained on the life in his hands. He stopped in front of Germania while everyone watched the Brit get chewed out.

"Arthur! I told you not to leave the shop under any circumstances!" He scolded.

Arthur bit his bottom lip and looked up at Germania, stuttering out softly so only the professor could hear. "Sir, I used my _sight_ and it called out to me. I **_had_** to leave and find it!"

Germania frowned and looked down at Arthur's egg before his eyes narrowed dangerously. He seemed to be thinking rather hard on something. "That is still no excuse. Whatever, it doesn't matter now. Go and gather with everyone else. Oh, and I think Vladimir would like to see what you bought. Make sure to show it to him when you get back to school."

Arthur nodded slowly, unsure what was making the German even scarier than normal. He quickly yet carefully walked over to Matthew who had a polar bear cub in his arms. Arthur blinked in surprise at the fluffy white creature.

"Arthur! Where have you been? I was worried! Don't go disappearing like that!" The quiet boy scolded him.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to cause such a ruckus." Arthur admittedly didn't feel guilty one bit, the glee he was feeling took up too much room for any other emotion. "What do you have there?"

"Oh this is Kajimera!" Matthew smiled happily.

The bear tilted its head and opened its fuzzy mouth. "Kumajirou." It corrected in a soft voice.

"Oh that's right! His name is Kumajirou." Matthew smiled wearily, having forgotten his own creatures name in a matter of minutes.

"It's a polar bear that can talk?" Arthur raised a brow, _isn't that interesting._

"Yep! I was so happy to find him too! There weren't any other creature's that could handle the cold like a polar bear! He's perfect!" Matthew hugged the bear happily.

"I bet." He turned his gaze down on the egg in the basket. He smiled lovingly at it, thinking of a name for the unknown creature.

"Oh? Is this what you went to get? There weren't many reptiles in the MC Emporium; did you go outside to get it?" Matthew looked into the basket.

"Yes actually, I used my gift and it called out to me. I had to get it no matter what." Arthur and Matthew began to walk back to the school with the rest of the class.

"Do you have a name for it?"

"No, to be honest I actually want to run them by Alfred first. He is helping me take care of it after all…"

"What is it? Do you know?"

"Not really, I'll just have to wait till it hatches. But I was told to keep it warm." Arthur informed.

"Well that's a given, reptiles can't handle the cold weather. They aren't built for it, makes them hibernate. Isn't that right Kujuji?" He kissed the top of his bear's head, already forgetting its name.

"Who are you?" The bear responded.

"I'm Matthew, I'm your owner."

"Who?"

"Matthew."

Arthur watched them go back and forth, they were obviously connected spiritually even without Arthur checking. He could easily tell that Matthew and Kumajirou would be getting along for quite some time. He wondered how big the polar bear cub would get, would he grow to be the normal size of a polar bear or maybe even bigger? Arthur suddenly thought of Matthew riding on the back of a large polar bear. He stifled a laugh, _sounds like something from a book or a movie._ He blinked and looked down, a sudden bubbly warmth erupting in his chest. He smiled down at the egg, realizing it was coming from the creature inside. _You find that funny? Well then you'll simply love Alfred, he's a whole lot of laughs and a tad bit over eccentric at times. But trust me; I know you'll love him. _Arthur told it gently. The same warmth bloomed in his chest and he smiled fondly, hugging the basket a bit closer to his person.

"Artie! I was waiting forever for you to get here! I was so bored!" Alfred groaned. He was sitting upside-down in the cushiony chair in Vladimir's office.

Vladimir looked to be annoyed, having to deal with Alfred head-on. He glanced up in relief when Germania and Arthur strolled into his office. Arthur carried his basket in and was instantly hounded by Alfred. Germania went to Vladimir and leaned over, whispering softly to the Transylvanian. They would cast their eyes at Arthur and his basket, both whispering furiously with each other.

"You're positive?"

"I can't be wrong about this. I've seen their eggs up-close before when I worked at the reserves. We had them specifically imported from Hungary since there were so few on the reserve." Germania whispered back.

They both looked up when Arthur began scolding Alfred, telling him to sit down or else. Vladimir swallowed before standing up slowly, whispering to Germania, "Keep an eye on it. That's all we can do for now. If it is what you say, then we just might have a problem on our hands." Germania nodded briskly and Vladimir moved around his desk and towards Arthur. "Well now Arthur," He said in a normal tone. "What did you get on your field trip?"

"Well sir, I'm not so sure myself. I'm only aware that it's a reptile. I can sort of communicate with it through my _sight_. It's rather helpful." Arthur looked up at him and smiled.

"Oh? Does it speak?"

"Well no, but I'm sure when it gets older it can learn. It is like a newborn after all. However, it does talk through emotions. I feel them like another added to my own. Like right now, it's all warm and bubbly. I think it's very excited and happy to be here." Arthur smiled down at the egg Alfred was watching with wide eyes.

"Have you thought of a name yet?" Vladimir stood with his hands behind his back, smiling innocently.

"Not yet, but I was hoping Alfred could help me think of something." Arthur smiled shyly at Alfred.

"Really?" Alfred gasped in utter disbelief. "But you said I couldn't name it!"

"I said you couldn't pick the name, I never said you couldn't help decide." Arthur chuckled at Alfred's dumbstruck expression.

"Oh this is gonna be so cool! Let's pick a really cool name!" Alfred bounced happily in his seat.

"Well I'll let you two decide that. Arthur, you won't be having lessons this week I'm afraid. I'll need to go to a meeting with the other Head Masters of other schools. You two can go off and have fun; I do have a lot of paper work to deal with. Make sure to tell Germania when you've thought of a name!" Vladimir stepped back as Alfred bolted up, eagerly waiting for Arthur to also sit up.

"Yes sir. Thank you!" Arthur stood up and picked up his basket and egg, leaving the room with Alfred tailing after him.

Vladimir watched them leave with a smile that soon fell when the boys were out of sight. "It is definitely _that_ kind of egg."

"Well what do you think? Should we do something?" Germania watched the door with an unusual and rare worried expression.

"Arthur can understand it; he has the gift of _sight_. Maybe he'll be able to raise it without trouble." Vladimir shrugged slightly.

"But sir, you do know what those things eat right? It didn't get its rating from the Ministry of Magic for nothing. What if he can't control it?" Germania was relatively worried for the boy.

"Have faith in Arthur."

"I do have faith in him! I just worry on how he'll raise it! He can't exactly keep in the school when it reaches its full height! You know how long those things get?" Germania looked frustrated.

"Calm down Germania, I have everything under control. Like Arthur said, it called out to him. That must be a good sign. He's a powerful wizard with the ability to understand magical creatures, he befriended Grindylows and they don't have the nicest of diets either. They usually drown their victims. Arthur is growing stronger in controlling his magic every day, soon even those bands on his wrists will disappear." Vladimir sighed and rested a hand on Germania's shoulder. "If something does happen to put Arthur in harm's way, then we will interfere. Until the time comes all we can do is sit and wait."

Germania looked ready to argue but he sighed in defeat and his blank expression was back. "Ja, I understand. I will keep an eye on Arthur and his companion."

"Good. It's interesting though, where on earth did he find someone to sell it to him? How much money did he have on him?" Vladimir went back to his desk.

"From what he told me, only around 85 gold pieces."

"Woah now wasn't that a steal!"

"I don't think a Head Master should be saying something like that."

"Why? No one can catch me on it. Now go and hang around your hubby, he's been whining about missing you all day. I've gotten complaints from most of the teachers, even Ivan was saying how annoying Romulus was being." Vladimir chuckled and sat at his desk.

Germania looked alarmed and strained; he sighed and rubbed his temples. He muttered something in German before he turned towards the door. "Ja, I will go deal with Romulus."

He left and a wicked smirk pulled at Vladimir's lips. Vladimir turned and looked at his bat perched on its little spot it hung from. "Well what do you think? Do you think Arthur can handle such a beast?" The bat didn't give any form of response, leaving Vladimir in utter silence.

"Well what should we name it?" Alfred was lying on Arthur's bed with the Brit, the egg between the both of them.

Arthur was on his side while Alfred was on his stomach. Arthur frowned and hummed in thought. "Well…. I'm not sure… Something that fits a reptile…"

"Something cool."

"Right."

"Heroic!"

"I wouldn't really say heroic…"

"Something that would sweep all the other lady lizards off their feet!"

"You don't really know if he's a lizard or even a '_he_' for that matter."

"Oh I know! How about –"

"We are _not_ naming him after a superhero." Arthur sent a venomous glare at Alfred.

The boy pouted in defeat, rolling onto his back and staring up at the ceiling. He made an over-exaggerated groan, covering his eyes with his arm. "Thinking of names is hard."

Arthur hummed his agreement, laying his head on his arm and running a hand gently over the egg. He traced small circles over the cool shell, humming a random tune. He was growing sleepy, all of his energy now gone and spent. He yawned and his eyes fluttered closed. He thought it was quiet enough for him to fall asleep since the long silence continued to stretch out between them. When Alfred suddenly shot up with a gasp, Arthur wasn't prepared for it. His eyes snapped open and he sat up on his hip, looking around wildly.

"What? What?" He asked in urgency.

"Arthur! You're in Slytherin right?" Alfred asked the Brit, his tone indicating he was leading it up to something.

Arthur raised a brow at him and answered sarcastically, "Well unless my house colour's are wrong, then no, I'm in Hufflepuff."

Alfred blew a raspberry at the Brit before reaching over and giving him a playful shove. "Don't be mean! I'm being serious here!"

"Ah! Another miracle!" Arthur said dramatically.

Alfred pouted, his cheeks puffing out along with his bottom lip. Arthur chuckled before reaching out and patting his cheek affectionately.

"I was only playing poppet, do continue." He unconsciously said the simple word of endearment.

"Poppet?" Alfred tilted his head and drew his brows together.

Arthur's eyes snapped open wide at the realization of what he had just said. He cleared his throat and willed his blush to go away. Clearing his throat again, this time louder, he looked down at the egg in embarrassment. "Nothing… J-just continue, please." He mumbled.

Alfred shrugged, his grin back on full force. "Anyways, so since you're a Slytherin and their house animal is a snake it got me thinking. So since he's a reptile and all why don't you name him after the founder of the Slytherin household? The guy had a think for reptiles didn't he?"

"You mean I should name him Salazar?" Arthur tilted his head to the side, it didn't sound half bad.

"Yeah! Doesn't it sound cool? Perfect name for a reptile!" Alfred smiled smugly, proud with his decision.

Arthur blinked and looked down at the egg. "Well what do you think? It is your name after all; do you want to be called Salazar?"

A burst of warmth spread out through Arthur's chest, reaching the tips of his toes and up to his ears. He instantly knew that the reptile liked its new name. "What'd he say? What'd he say? Does he like it?" Alfred watched the egg excitedly.

Arthur nodded. "Yes, he does like the name. What do you know Alfred; you actually got to name him."

"Yeah!" Alfred shouted happily. "Salazar it is! What do you know, Salazar is back in Slytherin!"

"Oh Alfred, don't make such jokes. Let the man rest in peace." Arthur smiled at the boy.

"But you love my jokes." Alfred grinned cheekily.

Arthur chuckled softly, lying down and closing his eyes. "Yes yes… Now hush up, I'm awfully tired.

"You're gonna sleep? But what about dinner? You didn't even eat lunch!" Alfred watched Arthur with a horrified expression.

"Then you can go and eat. I think I'll stay here with Salazar." Arthur yawned again.

"…" Arthur felt Alfred slide off the bed and figured he was leaving. He wasn't, however, prepared to hear the sound of clothes dropping to the floor.

He wasn't primed to see Alfred disrobing into nothing but his boxers. Arthur shot up and scooted back, shrieking out. "What on earth are you bloody doing?"

"Well I'm not gonna sleep in my clothes, silly. Besides, I didn't bring any Pj's so this is all I got."

"Well keep your pants on! Don't just stand there in your bloody underwear!" Arthur's face was beyond red, he was afraid it might never regain its normal colour.

"Then I'll just get under the covers." And with that Alfred lifted up the blankets and slipped under, smiling contently. "You gonna get under too?"

"Don't you dare go fucking sleeping naked in my bed!" Arthur was seething.

"I'm not naked and don't cuss so loudly, Salazar will hear you!" He pretended to cover up the ears on the egg.

Arthur sent him a hot glare before standing up and turning around. He couldn't believe he was doing this, in front of Alfred of all people! He stripped of his robes but quickly grabbed his long night shirt, slipping into it at a record breaking speed. He turned back around and glared daggers when Alfred wolf whistled. He flipped of the laughing American, slipping under the covers and sitting up to pull Salazar under the blankets with him.

"You're really pale you know? And thin for a guy. Real thin. Do you even eat food?" Alfred was propped up on an elbow, his cheek resting on his palm.

"Yes Alfred, I do! I just work it off faster than you."

"What are you trying to say Artie? I'm not fat!" Alfred whined.

Arthur rolled his eyes in response.

"Artieeeee…"

"Oh hush up! You're not fat! But you aren't well built either. Work out some more."

"I'm only 13, what kind of muscles am I gonna get?" Alfred laughed.

"Doesn't hurt to start early." Arthur huffed in false agitation.

"Well I'm a werewolf! I can work up muscles like that!" He snapped his fingers for emphasis.

"Don't rely too much on that fact." Arthur covered his mouth to stifle another yawn. "Come, let's go to sleep."

"Yeah yeah… What kind of reptile do you think Salazar is?" Alfred questioned, glancing down at the egg tucked snugly between the two.

"Well whatever he is, I'll love him unconditionally."

"Me too." Alfred agreed. He leaned down and kissed the egg. "Night Salazar, night Artie."

Arthur blinked before he did the same and kissed the egg. "Good night Salazar…. Good night Alfred…" They both closed their eyes, one following the other onto the path of slumber.

The days passed without much event, Arthur would take Salazar to all of his classes in case something happened. Arthur got his letter from the Ministry of Magic, saying that Salazar was now registered legally as his. Alfred was also by his side more often, eagerly chatting to Salazar and asking Arthur what the reptile was feeling. Alfred would spend more nights in Arthur's room than his own dorm. The Brit didn't mind, but he was angry one time when he woke up to flashes of a camera. Gilbert, Antonio, and Francis had all snuck into his room while he and Alfred had been asleep and had taken pictures of them. Arthur had been beyond angry, threatening to curse the trio of trouble.

As Winter break approached, so did Alfred's next transformation. Arthur was calmer during Alfred's second transformation, reading a book to him and Salazar. The transformation passed without incident and Arthur was happy about that. He had also been noticing Alfred getting closer to Jessica; in return he had been growing closer to Jack. It was fine in Arthur's opinion, but he knew he couldn't hide it from Salazar. The reptile sensed Arthur's bad mood, it would often end up making the poor thing share Arthur's depression. The Brit then dived into hanging out more with Jack and reading books. Arthur kept Salazar close to the fireplace, the reptile showed immense joy at the heat.

The month of November passed by quickly, making way for December. Salazar had started shifting in his egg, indicating he would be hatching soon. Alfred had told Arthur that Jessica was going home for Winter Break, much to the Brit's delight. However, when the break came Arthur felt it would be the worst one of his life. He and Alfred were sitting in his dorm room and playing Wizard's chess. Alfred had lost a total of 5 rounds to Arthur, only winning 1. The American was lost in thought while Arthur made his move.

"You know…" Alfred said after awhile, drawing Arthur's eyes up to him. "I'm thinking of asking Jessica out."

Arthur's heart dropped and he felt an empty coldness creep into his skin. "J-Jessica? Why Jessica?" He sputtered out in shock.

"Well she's real nice to me and she's really cute. I like hanging around her and stuff." Alfred shrugged, embarrassed.

"But Alfred! She was one of the people who were rude to me!" Arthur was taken aback.

"I know, and she said she'd change! She said since you were my friend she wouldn't be mean to you and everything! She wants to be your friend too Artie." Alfred protested softly.

"And you actually believe her?" Alfred's voice was shrill in disbelief. On the bed next to them, Salazar's egg shifted violently for a few seconds before lying still.

"Yes! I do!" Alfred was starting to grow defensive.

"How could you trust her after she practically turned you against me?" Arthur yelled.

"She didn't turn me against you! It was my fault I hurt you!" Alfred countered.

"You weren't the one to do it! They just influenced you! Her and her nasty friends!" Arthur growled harshly.

"What are you getting so angry about it for? May I remind you about Jack?"

"What about him?" Arthur narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"Well he obviously doesn't like me."

"He has nothing to do with this. Don't bring him into our conversation." Arthur snapped. Salazar budged once more, his egg making a slight cracking sound.

"This isn't even a conversation! This is a stupid argument! Something _you_ started!" Alfred pointed at the Brit accusingly.

"Me? You're the bloke who wants to go off dating a girl! You're only 13 god damn it! You don't need to think about a relationship right now!" Arthur glared at the finger pointed at him.

"What are you, my mother? I can do what I want Arthur! I don't need you ordering me around!" Alfred stood up and stomped to the door.

"And just where are you going?" Arthur glared at him over his shoulder.

"I'm going back to my dorm and getting some money to go to Hogsmeade! You can sit here and cool your head! You'd better not be thinking stupidly when I get back!" Alfred yanked open the door and stormed out, leaving it open.

Arthur stood up and growled, yelling after him. "Then don't come back at all! My bad mood will still be here when you get back!"

He huffed angrily, kicking the door closed. He stormed back over to his bed and sat down at the edge, crossing his arms over his chest. "How could he do that to me? Dropping a bombshell like that? What was he thinking?" He muttered angrily.

He jumped when Salazar shifted again, this time he distinctly heard the crack and snap of the egg. Arthur paled when the egg rocked fiercely, a large crack appearing on the front of the egg.

"U-uh Alfred? Alfred!" He shot up and yanked the door open, running out as quick as his legs could move. He spotted Alfred in the doorway to the common room. "Alfred!" He shrieked imperatively.

Alfred turned around and scowled at him. "What?" He asked bitterly.

Arthur grabbed his sleeve and yanked hard, forcibly dragging him towards the bedroom. "Salazar! He's hatching!" Arthur tried to make Alfred move faster.

Alfred's eyes widened when the words sunk in. "What?" He cried.

He darted past Arthur, dragging the Brit with him. They busted into the room and watched the egg quake viciously. They stood on either side of the bed and watched with wide eyes, their fight long forgotten. They both shared a gasp when more cracks appeared on the surface. Alfred shook in excitement and Arthur's heart was pounding in his ears.

Suddenly, the egg shell exploded. Pieces flew haphazardly all over the place, hitting and bouncing off of objects, mainly the two boys. Arthur covered his eyes from any flying pieces and only when he heard a gurgling squeak did he lower his hand. He and Alfred's eyes stretched wider than they ever did as they stared down at the creature they named Salazar, the creature that was standing in a puddle of its own egg goo. Arthur let out the breath he was holding, sighing in awe. He had to blink more than once to assure himself that what was now soaking his bed up with goo was his actual creature, what was connected to his soul. Arthur could feel his legs shake as he stared down at it, a sudden jolt of excitement and fear plaguing his entire body.


End file.
